Renovation
by MonkeeNoodles
Summary: After getting her room destroyed, Raven moves into Starfire's room but when she sees something one day she decides to sleep in the Common Room until her room is fixed but then Beast Boy finds out about her sleeping in the Common Room...BBRae stuff!
1. Disappearing rooms and sappy passwords

**Disclaimer: As much as I want to own Teen Titans, I am pretty sure it will never be achieved...cries**

**Author Note: Sorry it's my first ever Teen Titan fanfic so if the characters are a little bit OOC...forgive me!! kneels and begs for forgiveness**

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**Chapter 1: Disappearing rooms and sappy passwords**

"Oh, friends, it is horrible. Our splendorous place we call home is in ruins."

Robin held her tightly across his chest as sobs filled her eyes, "Star...it'll be alright...it's nothing unfixable. Cyborg will have it up and running in no time."

"Well...guys...I think we've hit a problem." Cyborg replied as he finished checking out the damages caused by their fight within the Titans Tower with Brother Blood.

Robin sighed and scrunched up his brows in distress, "What is it, Cy?"

The rest of the Teen Titans looked at the state of their home for a while and in an almost unison, sighed. Half of the building was destroyed and they could actually see most of Jump City through the humongous chunk missing from the Titan's tower, and unluckily for both Raven and Robin, their room went with it.

"The renovation part isn't the thing that's worrying me, it's the security." Cyborg explained to his team mates, his mechanical eye glancing towards the ruins while his human eye gave them his full attention, "I designed and made every aspect of the security that went into your rooms and it took me a long time to set up." He scratched his head, "It's gonna take me at least three months to get it back to how it was before." He sighed, "Dick...I'm sorry I can't get it finished sooner, I'll try to get it done as soon as possible. That's a promise."

"Don't worry about it Vic...If you do the best you can then it's fine by me." He smoothed Kori's hair with his head and the sobbing died down a little.

She suddenly looked up, "That klorbag! Oh, our home is in ruins!"

Raven sighed as she watched Koriand'r sob, Dick comfort her and Vic try to reassure her that everything was going to go back to normal and that the Titan's Tower was going to be as good as new. It was nothing new really, the Titan's Tower had gotten a beating a few times before, but not as bad as this. She glanced at Garfield, and for once he didn't try to make some petty joke out of the situation to make everybody feel better, he just shrugged as he saw her glance at him; Starfire always caused drama—scratch that—Starfire was drama.

"Where will friend Raven and boyfriend Robin stay then?" Starfire enquired as her crying seemed to have subsided, "They cannot be left alone. It is so dark at night, and scary." She suddenly jumped for joy and her green eyes glowed even greener, if that was possible, "Oh...I have the most wondrous idea! Maybe boyfriend Robin could go sleep in Beast Boy's room and friend Raven can stay in my room. We will have a great time, friend Raven!" She giggled and grabbed hold of Raven's hand, "We will have the girl talk and the makeovers and we will go to the mall of shopping every day! Oh, it is wondrous, is it not?"

"Great..." Raven replied, her face revealing no emotions at all but the other Titans—save poor Kori—could probably tell that she wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate the future trips to the 'mall of shopping' with the only other female in the team, "I'll be moving my now non-existent items to Kori's room."

"Aww, don't be so depressed Rae...think about how much fun you will be having by doing 'the girl talk' and going to 'the mall of shopping'" Garfield chuckled.

"My name is Raven."

"Well...RAE..."

She turned to him and glared, "Do you try to piss me off all the time or is it just natural to you, eh, Logan?"

Garfield flinched and backed away, his green eyes seemingly hurt, "I'm sorry, Raven...I was just trying to cheer you up a bit...you know get your mojo back on...whatever mojo that was..." His voice faltered as he realised that the messages in her eyes seemed to scream 'DEATH DEATH DEATH TO BEAST BOY'.

Raven continued to glare at him but not before Robin interrupted.

"Cut it out guys, this isn't the time to argue. We have to make this work and yes, it's going to be hard but no, there isn't any other choice."

Raven just rolled her eyes at the mini-speech Robin gave out as she had heard it countless times before, "Whatever."

"But what did I do?" Beast Boy whined sulkily, "She started it!"

"Enough, Garfield!" Robin stated harshly.

"Friends! It is not the time to fight!" Kori announced as she felt the tension between the team mates, "We shall have to—how do you say it?—stick together."

Raven didn't say anything and just walked off from the scene and towards Starfire's room. It was one thing to see her room and all her belongings destroyed, it was quite another to be constantly pissed off by her team mates and to be honest she didn't understand why she had stayed with them for so long; four years in fact! She was nineteen now and she didn't feel like she changed much; her skin was still a pale, pallid colour, her hair was still a strange violet-black colour that matched her eyes and she was the shortest now...she hadn't grown since she was sixteen and that felt like an age ago.

Starfire was also nineteen but instead of staying the same as Raven had, her appearance literally blossomed. She was always the most attractive between the two with her curvy yet slim figure and her mass of flowing copper hair but now she wasn't merely pretty, she was breathtakingly beautiful, so beautiful in fact that it was kind of painful to look at her; her eyes shone a bit brighter, her legs a bit longer, her figure a bit curvier and by the look of Robin's face, as beautiful as ever. Raven sometimes acted as though appearances didn't matter, pretended to be indifferent, pretended to ignore the tabloid debates on who was the hottest superhero in Jump City, but sometimes it was a bit much, yet Kori seemed to be ignorant of all this and she was still nice—though sometimes it was too much—and spontaneous, something Raven was not.

That's another person who'd done a bit of changing, though mind you, not too much. He was twenty now and as always he was fit and in shape but now he was tall and he was—as far as she could tell with that dreadful mask on which he always kept on no matter what the situation was (whether relaxing at home or beating up some random villains—quite good looking and it's further proven by the fact that every time the Teen Titans go crime fighting, there is always a girl who'd ask for an autograph and a picture with Robin. He was still the leader, he was born to it...he breathed leadership and everyone knew it.

Cyborg...well...the twenty-one-year-old sometimes worried her a littler; he was embracing technology quite quickly though he did sometimes lapse into better judgement and appreciate his true human figure once in a while. He was still a complete laugh, there was no one funnier than him and no one as fun as him, and as much as Raven refused to admit, she actually enjoyed spending time with him. She didn't tell him she was having fun, of course, but Raven thought that Vic knew but he kept quite about it. He was immature at times, but he had his moments...he was, after all, the oldest.

Raven suddenly stopped in front of Starfire's door and gazed at the lock for a while. Now what would Kori—of all people—put as a password? She typed in the first thing that came into her head 'Blumgorf'...it came back denied...'Tamaran'...that came back denied and she had to rack her brains until she finally thought of something so ridiculous that it had to be it.

"No...It couldn't be..." She muttered under her breath while she typed in 'BoyfriendRichardGrayson'.

She waited.

Maybe she was wrong, maybe Starfire wasn't such a sap after all.

It opened.

Damn.

The room was pink...very, very pink. It was so pink that it was exploding in pink-ness; the bed was pink...the walls were pink...and Silkie was even dressed in a pink cardigan-type thing. How was she to stay with Starfire in this room for three whole months? In all seriousness, she was going to kill Brother Blood for this.

The pink-ness of the room was really starting to burn her eyes so she decided that the best way to handle it was to meditate.

"Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos..." She repeated over and over in a low murmur to calm herself; steering clear of all emotions and thoughts to reached the goal of total calm and tranquillity, "Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos...Azareath-."

"Raven!" She heard a knock at the door and decided to ignore it.

"Azarath...Metrion..."

The knock grew louder, "RAE!"

That last call forced her out of her meditation and back into real life. What did Beast Boy want now? Couldn't he tell that she just wanted to be left alone?

"RAE-RAE! I know you're in there! Stop ignoring me!"

Apparently not.

Beast Boy was definitely one that hadn't grown up despite his eighteen years...he was still the same annoying and immature prat that couldn't care less whether or not he was pissing off anyone as long as people thought he was funny. He had grown taller, and fitter (through the sheer effort of Robin forcing him to train every day instead of staying cooped up in his room or flirting with random girls off the streets) but personality-wise, he wasn't much different. He definitely wasn't mature; he still kept trying to push the name 'Beast Man' instead of 'Beast Boy' as he thought it made him sound a bit more attractive to all the fan girls out there and in hopes that everyone had forgotten how much of a skinny runt he was four years ago.

She opened the door, "What do you want Garfield?"

He scratched the back of his ears subconsciously, "Well...I...er...wanted to..." His voice faltered.

"Wanted to what?"

"Apologise." Garfield stated bluntly, "I...dude...I...I...realised I'd been a bit funky towards you and you I know usually I wouldn't bother apologising to you because you never seem to forgive me anyway...but I realised I was a bit mean to you since you had lost your room...and your stuff...and your bed...and-."

She cut him off, "I get the point, thanks."

"So...yea..." He was back to rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well..." She looked up at him, he was a whole foot taller than her now, "I guess I was a bit hard on you. I mean, yea you're a bit of an annoying prat but we can't all be perfect." She cracked the smallest smile.

At the hint of an actual emotion in her voice, he grinned; his fangs revealing themselves, "Really, Rae? I'm really forgiven?" He changed into a puppy dog compete with a wagging tail, "You're actually forgiving me?"

"Don't push it Garfield, and it's Raven."

"Wow...I should apologise more if it actually broke your whole ice-queen act a bit more often. You can be a bit creepy sometimes...the whole loner thing is kinda uncomfortable when we're supposed to be a team." He suddenly realised what he said and looked at Raven as she inhaled sharply.

She froze, "Get out."

"What...Rae...I didn't mean it!" He cried.

"Get out. Now."

He backed away and went out of the room, suddenly turning into a meek cat from the sheer shock of it, "Rae...I didn't mean to..."

The room began to darken and items seemed to fly up on its own. He looked at Raven and shook his head.

"Get the fuck out." She said monotonously, "And it's Raven."

The door slammed shut.

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**Author Note: Liiiikkkeee it??? Hope you did! Reviews anyone? Critics welcome! Hope you're excite about the next chappie! It's coming purrrdddyyy soon!**


	2. Scratching the ears

**Author's note: Aloha! Another installment of this little ficcy...hope you like it! BTW sorry if the story is a bit slow!!!**

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**Chapter 2: Scratching the ears  
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It was dinnertime and Garfield had already—well almost—gotten over the shock of Raven getting so worked up over him saying some measly comment about her being creepy and such...it wasn't the fact that she was pissed off at him—she did that quite a lot actually—it was the fact that she actually swore at him.

Now that was weird and unnerving.

Sure he was a bit immature—OK, complete understatement...he was immature most of the time—but at least he tried right?

He scratched his ears, a bad habit he had gotten from being an animal for half his life, and he wouldn't have been surprised if the others had picked up that whenever he did this he was deep in thought, or day dreaming...whichever came first.

But Raven must've known that he tried...right? She had known him for four years now, she can't not know. Yet...

He stabbed his fork into the vegetable spaghetti he had whipped up for the rest of the group and continued to watch the new horror flick, 'Haunted Fair III', he had picked out earlier when he had popped out of the Tower out of shock from the incident with Raven.

...he didn't know anything about her. Oh, he did know when to leave her alone—though he sometimes pretended to be ignorant and annoy her whenever he could—, what she liked to eat, what her favourite colour was, who her parents were but he didn't know anything about, well, her.

"Yo...B." Cyborg interrupted his thoughts, "Why the ear scratching?"

So someone did notice.

Beast Boy shrugged and gave him a big grin, "Nothing Vic, nothing. Just wondering how they do all the cool special effects and stuff. I mean...wow...I haven't seen such a good movie in a long time."

"Well..." Vic trailed off to explain what the directors had done to create the movie but Beast Boy wasn't hearing a word of it. He suddenly stopped, "You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you, you little grass stain?"

Garfield broke off his own reverie and chuckled, "Of course I am Vic...I mean I totally understand what the gizmo-thingy does so it looks like that...thingy..." His voice faltered as Vic put on his 'I-can't-belive-you're-giving-me-this-shit-and-expecting-me-to-believe-it' look.

"You're such a moron BB...you can't fool me...I mean I'm your frickin' best friend for God's sakes!" Vic flashed him a grin almost identical to his own, "So...why were you scratching your ears then?"

"Does everyone know about that?" Garfield asked, "Coz I swear I don't do it a lot."

"BB, man, stop changing the subject."

He whined and pouted, "Fine."

"So? What did you do this time? Try to sneak up on Robin and Starfire making out? Dye Raven's hair pink when she was asleep? Fed Silkie loads of onions?"

"Nah, man, I don't do that stuff anymore, remember? I'm Beast Man now."

Cyborg laughed and slapped Beast Boy on the back, almost causing him to choke, "Yea, and I'm Cyberdude." He rolled his eyes, "So...seriously."

"I pissed Raven off again today." He replied, his eyes still glued to the screen as someone's head flew off, "OH! THAT WAS WICKED!"

"So what? You piss off Raven every day; you piss her off when we go fight someone, you piss her off in the mornings when she's the crankiest...you piss her off at night when she's about to sleep...hell I bet you she dreams that you piss her off."

"She swore at me."

Cyborg raised a brow.

"And her things were flying in the air with the whole black shiny stuff around it. It was pretty scary."

He only had one brow so that one brow remained raised.

"Wow...you pissed her off bad, Garfield."

"I know. I'm not stupid, you know."

The brows remained.

"CY!" He whined.

"OK, OK...but why are you worrying about it dude? It's like me worrying about why Starfire seems to think that 'frenching' means touching your toes."

"She thinks that?"

He nodded, "Yep."

"Wow. I love that alien princess to bits but she can be a bit weird, can't she?"

"Yep."

Suddenly, a weird swooshing noise was heard by the two and there—from out of nowhere—was Starfire.

"Friends...were you talking about me?" Her yellowish-green eyes gazed intensely at both of them.

"No, of course not dawg, we were just talking about the movie."

She looked relieved, "Oh, and here I thought you were bad-speaking me, but of course I was wrong. Friends do not do that." She smiled sweetly, "Friend Cyborg, what is this 'dawg' you speak of? Do I remind you of a four-footed furry mammal who wags his tail?" Her voice revealed that she was quite confused in this matter.

Garfield sniggered as Cyborg turned red, "No! Nothing like that...it's my way of saying you're my friend."

"Oh! So it is a term of endearment?" She clapped her hands in delight, "That is such a delightful term to say, 'dawg'."

The sniggering grew louder.

"Oh Beast Boy...it is always so amusing when you snort through your nose." She giggled as he turned bright red, "I have forgotten to ask you friends...have you seen friend Raven? I wished we could travel to the marvellous mall of shopping so we can buy her new clothes...I wanted to show her the new skirt of the mini that I found in the mall of shopping..."

"She's probably around, Kor, she's probably meditating or something."

"Yes, she did look—how do you say it?—down in the dumplings after her room was blown away."

"Don't you mean 'down in the dumps'?" Garfield asked.

She clapped her hands and giggled in reply, "Oh yes, my sincere apologies, she is probably having the down in the dumps. I will see if she is OK if I find her. If you find her tell us we must have the girl talk. It is most urgent."

"OK Star...we will." They chimed in unison.

With that, she floated away while humming—what Garfield thought to be—the 'Mmbop' song. Wow, she didn't know what frenching was but she knew how the 'Mmbop' song went...he did too...but he wasn't gonna admit it.

"B, are you hummin' the 'Mmbop' song?" Cyborg asked after a couple of minutes at staring at the place Starfire had been.

He shook his head and felt his cheeks burn, "Mmm...no...what you talkin' bout dude? Of course I don't know the words to 'Mmbop'!"

Cyborg shrugged and continued to watch the movie, "Whatever man...I know 'Mmbop' when I hear it."

"Man," Garfield stood up with his empty plate, "This movie's lame."

"What!? Two seconds ago you said it was the coolest movie you've ever seen!"

"Yea, well...The plate's dirty." He gestured his empty plate, "I've gotta wash it."

"Man! What's wrong with you? You hate chores!"

He laughed then walked off out of the room and towards the kitchen. The doors opened and he almost stumbled backwards; Raven was there. Before he could escape though, their eyes met—his green ones and her dark violet ones—and he froze.

"H-h-hey..." He stuttered.

Her gaze grew stronger as he greeted her, "Hi." The voice came out flat and monotone.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "What are you doing here?"

"Hiding."

"Oh."

"You?"

"Oh...nothing." He laughed nervously, "Just going to wash the dishes."

Her brows rose, "Washing?"

He nodded.

"The dishes?"

He nodded.

He looked down at his shuffling feet, "Er...Raven...I'm sorry bout before."

She was quiet.

"Bout...both times. I was being a fucking idiot." He admitted, "And a prat...as you pointed out earlier."

She was quite.

"C'mon Rae...ven! Say something? Please?" He whined, "At least shout at me for not being funny or for being such an idiot!"

Raven looked up, "I'm hiding from Kori."

"Oh?"

"She wants to paint my nails pink."

It was his turn to raise a green brow.

"And buy me a mini skirt."

He grinned inwardly at the thought of Raven wearing a mini-skirt.

"It's not funny." She said with the most deadpan face known to mankind, though he could see that she wanted to laugh—or at least smile—too, "I'm an empath remember."

"Yea." He grinned, "So..."

The silence blanketed the kitchen once more.

"You can stay."

He sighed in relief.

She had forgiven him...for now at least.

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**Author's note: So...likey likey or no likey likey??? Constructive criticism will help uber much!! Thankies!**


	3. Bonding

**Disclaimer: You know it, I don;t own it. Woooo! That rhymes!**

**Author Note: No budding romance yet...sowwiii guys...trying to take it slow but I shall make the next chap better. I promise! Oh and the mental bond between Rae and Rob is the one formed in Haunted and so on...**

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**Chapter 3: Bonding**

"Oh, Raven it is so glorious to be in love." Starfire sighed, "It is so splenderous to share the hugs and the kisses with an Earth boy like Dick." She cooed, "It is especially nice when he does the nibbling of the lips."

Raven shook her head, her eyes closed and her hands over her ears frantically, "Kori! Stop! I don't want to know what you and Dick do in your spare time."

"But why ever not, friend Raven? Do you not wish to be in love with someone? Oh, I wish you were, friend Raven..."

Raven looked up curiously, "Wish I was what?"

"In love...it is such a glorious feeling. It is like eating copious amounts of mustard and the sticks of pixie." She giggled and her smile lit up even brighter than it usually did, "If you were in love, friend Raven, there would be a mass amount of topics we could talk about when we start our girl talk."

That stung a little, she was supposed to be emotionless to maintain control of her powers and falling in love didn't allow that, "I tried it remember?"

"Oh...yes...that horrible klorbag called Malchior." She grimaced and Raven noted that even when she grimaced, she was still gorgeous, "Oh!"

"Yes...?"

"I shall do the making of the match!"

"You mean match-making?"

"Yes, that too...it will be most enjoyable and you will be in love!"

Starfire commenced to hugging Raven so tight that it was a wonder that Raven even managed to breathe. This lead Raven to believe that Kori _really _didn't know the extent of her super-human strength and Raven felt that she didn't need to tell her, hard as it might be to admit it, she actually liked Kori. Not only because she was the only other female on the Teen Titans but because Kori was everything Raven wanted to be...she kinda...she kinda idolises Kori in a way.

"Kori...no." She stated simply.

Kori put on her puppy-dog face at once, "But why ever not? I believe you will have a marvellous time with Garfield. He is extremely humorous and when you are sad he could turn into that fat cat on the television box to cheer you up." She smiled, "I have learnt from Victor that they have the same names. It is most amusing."

Her violet eyes widened in shock, "Garfield?" Her voice was monotone no longer, "Garfield!?"

"Yes, he is most amusing, is he not?" She clapped her hands giddily, "And he pays a lot of attention to you."

"But he's Garfield..."

"Exactly!" She giggled, "He is most gentlemanly and he has an adoration for you!"

Raven snorted at that last remark, "Yea, right. Vic will be a vegetarian before Gar acts like a gentleman."

Kori seemed confused now, "Victor has chosen to consume only vegetables? What will he do with the coupon of the meat buffet I purchased for him yesterday?"

"No." She shook her head in distress, "I just mean that there is in no way Garfield likes me. All he does all day is try to piss me off for God knows what reason."

Her best friend smiled and hugged her once more, "Oh, friend Raven, you must look at the world more clearly—how should I say it?—with eyes wide open." She shrugged as she released a hyperventilating Raven, "You are oh so wise, dearest Raven, but sometimes I do wonder if your eyes are closed..."

"Star, as you can see...my eyes are wide open."

"It is not like that. I do not mean that you should open your eyes physically, merely that you should try and enlarge your heart. There is a lot of good in our friend Beast Boy-"

She cut herself off as she saw heard a couple of knocks on her door. Her whole face brightened and she stood up to answer the door. There stood Dick Grayson in all his glory and he was...he was wearing a tux.

"_Where are you two going then?" _She smirked as she imposed the question in his mind.

He tugged at his sleeves nervously and it made Raven realise that he wasn't wearing his mask. It was amazing how different he looked; he was, as she had guessed, quite good looking and with this Raven realised that Kori was in a pink dress—she wasn't really sure why she didn't realise before—and that they were going on a date...somewhere flashy by the look of the way they were both dressed.

She felt Robin grin mentally, _"I'm gonna go to Gotham to introduce her to Bruce."_

"_Meeting the parent, I see." _She smiled back inwardly, _"Take care." _Raven sensed that he was nervous and she noted that he was physically sweating, _"Don't worry. Bruce'll love her."_

Scepticism clouded his thoughts, _"You don't know Bruce like I do, Raven. He's sarcastic and mean and he's a bit of a loner."_

She smirked, _"A bit like me, then? If that's true then he'll approve."_

Kori gleefully tugged at her boyfriend's sleeve, "Shall we journey to the city of Gotham?" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheeks.

"_Aw..." _Raven rolled her eyes, _"PDA..."_

Robin scowled, _"Shut up."_

Kori looked from her best friend to her boyfriend curiously, "Are you two doing the mental bonding?" She giggled, "It must be joyous to communicate with Robin constantly. I would like to have that power if I had the chance."

Robin grinned at his Kori and gave her a quick hug, Raven noted that Kori was tall—way taller than her anyway—and yet Dick was taller, "I'd rather have silence with you than have Raven in my head." Kori blushed a flaming red.

"Oh, please." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Well, we're off then." Their team leader announced, "Starfire and Robin out."

With that they walked out of the room, leaving the door open and Raven strained to reach Starfire's mind. It was hard, not only because they were a bit far now but also because she had never mentally bonded with Starfire before.

"_Take care Kori..." _She sensed agitation, _"You'll be fine." _And with that the agitation subsided and turned into gratitude.

She looked around the room and was surprised to find that she didn't like being alone in a place that she wasn't familiar with—though Raven had already been staying in that room for a week and a half by now—and she grabbed a book and went out to venture to the Common Room. Per usual, Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing video games aggressively; as if their lives depended on the very game. She knew they wouldn't notice her so she settled herself and started to read the novel she had randomly picked out at the local bookstore a couple of days ago.

The novel was 'Nineteen Eighty Four' by the infamous George Orwell and it was a brilliant novel, thought up by a genius, though she knew that the novel was inspired by yet another novel, apparently even more amazing and awe-inspiring than this one yet she couldn't find it in the local bookstore and was content in reading this one. It was all about totalitarian societies and the power of language and such, it was a dystopian novel but it made you think.

She snorted as an image of Beast Boy trying to think popped into her head and this caused the two game-zombies to stare at her incredulously.

"Raven..." Cyborg started.

She glared at him, "Yes?"

"You snorted."

And with that, the pair started laughing, their bodies rolling around on the floor and their consoles all but forgotten. She rolled her eyes at how immature they were, the way they laughed at her snort. For the love of God, it was only a snort. This is the reason that she rarely laughed, she knew that they would find it hideously funny and would make fun of it and blackmail her with it for the rest of her life.

"Oh my God." Tears were rolling out of Beast Boy's eyes now, "That was priceless!" And he commenced to laughing at her even more, with a much bigger volume.

"Funny." Her word dripped with sarcasm.

She shielded herself with the black energy she was so used to creating so that all sound was blocked and she could continue to read the novel.

It was going to be a long day.

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It was late, well not that late; it was about twelve at night and she was getting tired. She had planned on finishing off the book but after a while of non-stop reading, the words became blurry and the energy drained out of her because of how much effort she was putting into keeping the shield up so that the guys wouldn't further interrupt her reading. They were gone now and she was sure that both Kori and Dick had come back from their venture to Gotham; both were a bit tipsy at how much champagne they had consumed at the Wayne Manor.

She turned off the lights in the Common Room then walked towards Starfire's room. The lights were dim but they were still on, just in case the alarm went off and everyone had to rush out of their rooms to go rescue someone else's arse.

"Ouch." She stumbled over something and after close inspection she thought it looked like Kori's pink and black stilettos that she kept for special occasions.

What were they doing here? She wondered as she looked at the shoe for a couple of seconds before continuing her journey back to her current accommodation.

She stumbled again, "Frick." This time it was over a pair of male dress shoes.

What in Azar were they doing here, so close to Starfire's room?

She pressed the password code to open the door and froze.

Oh my fucking Azar.

Kori and Dick were both in the room.

Naked.

Having sex.

In the room she was currently staying.

She rushed out before Kori and Dick noticed that a third party was in the room and walked rapidly back towards the Common Room.

Why didn't it click when she saw those shoes outside the room?

God, she was so stupid.

And now where was she going to sleep?

She was two seconds away from the Common Room and she was thinking hard. Where was she to sleep tonight? And on the other nights 'til her room was back? She couldn't sleep in Starfire's room. Not after what she...saw.

Sigh.

Before she realised it, she was back in the Common Room, back on the couch she was sitting on before where Vic and Gar had laughed at the way she laughed. Her book was still in her hand; her hands were dripping in sweat. Her eyelids were growing heavier by the second and her breathing slowed down almost instantly. The couch was becoming strangely comfortable. She lay down slowly, her hand still gripping her book and she stayed there until her eyelids finally fluttered closed.

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**Author Note: Like? No like? Reviews and critics pwease!**


	4. Nineteen Eighty Four and Hot chocolate

**A/N: Longer than the previous chappies and it KINDA has BB/Rae moments but not really...thanks for all the reviews by the way! I appreciate it! huggles**

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**Chapter 4**

Raven slowly opened her eyes, her vision was always a bit blurry when she woke up early in the morning but this morning she could see extremely well and it was, well it was, _green_.

"Morning Rae!" He squealed.

"Argh!" She toppled over and fell on the floor.

He looked at her curiously, "Waddaya do that for? Didn't that hurt?"

She rolled her eyes as she sat back on the couch, "No you idiot it did not hurt me."

"For real?"

She nudged him in the ribs and he winced, "Of course it hurt you idiot! What is so special about me that you spend all your time trying to find ways to piss me off?"

He flashed her a grin and waggled a finger at her, "Flattering yourself a bit much, Rae?"

She grumbled, "I am not flattering myself, thank you very mu..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes traced his hands and what was held in them, "You're reading?" She commented incredulously.

He held up the book he was reading and her incredulousness was mixed in with a dollop of curiosity. He was reading 'Nineteen Eighty Four'? Had hell frozen over? Had Garfield finally convinced Vic to eat vegetables?

She blinked.

His face was different. The features were the same; the nose, the mouth, the moss green eyes, the bushy eyebrows but it was...different. It was like he was a completely different person. Raven scrutinised him for a couple of seconds and realised what it was; he was serious...mature. She never noticed the change in him throughout these years but it was there.

"Rae?" He sing song-ed.

She shook her head dismissively and he was back to being Beast Boy; immature 'ladies man' with an obsession with tofu.

"Rae...you're doing that crazy eye thing you do when you're thinking...it's scary..." He mock-whimpered.

Yep, he was definitely back.

"Why are you reading that?"

"This?" He seemed to be pondering on the answer, "It looked good, but now I've realised that it requires a lot of juice from my noggin'. Can't have it wasted on one book, can we?"

"And here I thought you were trying to be a bit more intelligent rather than waste your time with those silly video games you constantly play."

"Hmmm...Why were you sleeping here last night?" He was new-Garfield now, his voice seemed deeper and it was laced with concern.

Raven was taken aback a bit, but she wasn't sure why, the question he inquired was a typical question that one would ask someone else if they found them sleeping soundly on the couch.

"I...er...I fell asleep. Got too caught up in the book you see."

"You're not speaking in sentences that are grammatically correct. Something's wrong." His green eyes seemed to bore into her own, "Tell me."

In any other case, she would think that he was mocking her but she was sure that he was serious. She could _feel _that he was serious.

This Garfield was making her nervous.

She was _never _nervous.

Sure, she wasn't the most confident person, but she was calm and collected.

Never _nervous_.

"Don't be ridiculous Garfield. Talk? About what? Nothing happened. I just fell asleep, that's all."

"People don't fall asleep with a page folded, Rae." He said her name as if it was an afterthought.

"I-"

"Well." He interrupted, "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll sort it out, eh Rae? I'm gonna get me some TOFU!" He squealed after he heard his stomach rumbled and ran out of the Common Room towards the kitchen.

She shook her head; she had been a fool to be wary of Garfield. He was Garfield after all, it wasn't like he was gonna go all Jedi Master on her. No one was awake yet, and if they were they were still roaming around the tower or snuggling up in their beds.

What was she going to do when Kori and Dick woke up? She couldn't really mention what she...saw. It was too crude, too vulgar. She stared at the entrance of the Common Room as if her staring would change a thing. She _really _couldn't go back to that room, she couldn't even think of about it. It wasn't that it was a wrongful act—after all they were in _love_, completely and utterly besotted to each other—but she just felt...dirty. It was like she had shared the bed with them, like she was the third party.

It just felt...wrong.

"Morning, Raven."

And speak of the devil, here they were ...both of them. She was to face _both _of them at the same time.

"Morning." She replied smoothly, trying to keep the embarrassed heat from her voice.

Raven heard Kori giggle as the couple commenced to a tickle fight.

"Friend Raven," The giggles subsided for the moment, "I did not see you back at the room last night. Where were you?"

She felt her cheeks heating up and took a few seconds before she could answer without looking like a ripe tomato, "I fell asleep." She held out her book, "Good book."

Robin peered at the book she was holding, "'Nineteen Eighty Four', didn't think you were into that stuff, Raven."

She managed to crack a smile, "It's absolutely brilliant."

"It is." He said distractedly and then kissed Kori boldly on the cheeks.

Raven had to look away now; it was too much of a reminder of what she saw last night. God, when will it stop?

She cleared her throat and the couple looked at her with such intensity it was slightly unnerving, "Kori."

"Yes, friend Raven?"

"I don't think I'll be staying at yours anymore."

Her best friend looked sad and her green eyes dimmed slightly, "Why ever not, friend Raven? Do you not find it joyful?"

"It's not like...that." Her voice slowed, "I just feel like I need some privacy, that's all...I'm not used to being so...close."

"Oh..." She could tell that Kori was definitely upset right now, "Where will you stay, Raven? Will we still be able to enjoy the girl talk like we have in the previous weeks?"

"Of course we will, Kor...It's not like I'm moving out."

Dick cut it, "But seriously, Raven...where will you stay? You don't have a room."

She shot him a look of pure annoyance, "Here, probably." She gestured at the couch she was still sitting on.

"In the Common Room?" He raised a brow, "Raven you need a bed. If you really don't want to stay at Kori's then why don't you stay in Vic's room?"

"Where will Vic stay then?"

"In Garfield's, he'll manage fine."

She crossed her arms then rolled her eyes at the team's leader, "Yea, I'm so sure Vic will be fine with me staying in his room where all his batteries and equipment are. It's not like he's going to be immobilised when he's separated from those items." She added dryly.

"Well, I'll make him."

She sighed, "Dick, I know you're the team leader and all but you cannot just say, 'Oh, hi Vic, forgot to tell you...Raven's moving into your room and she's going to stay there until you've finished the repairs, and oh yea, she probably won't even let you into your own room to get batteries, so I have no idea how you're going to survive. Toodles for now.'"

"I don't say toodles, and what else are you going to do, then?"

Raven saw Kori rub her boyfriend's shoulders to make him feel a bit more relaxed, "Boyfriend Dick, I do not think we should be too worrisome over friend Raven. She is, as you say it, tough as nails and she will be fine." She said softly, almost too softly for Raven to hear, "She will be fine."

Dick grumbled but he reluctantly accepted that he couldn't do anything more to the situation even though he didn't have the full grasp of it, especially since he didn't have the full grasp of it. Raven would quite literally _die _if he knew the whole concept of it.

"Fine. But if you get..." He fumbled for the right word, "...scared, or anxious just go to Kori's room. She'll welcome you right back."

"Yes," Kori added with a sweet smile on her face, "I am your friend; I shall always welcome you, friend Raven."

"Thanks." Raven stated.

"So...who wants breakfast?" Dick asked invitingly, "I could smell Garfield's tofu waffles from a mile away."

"Tofu waffles?" Kori clapped her hands in delight, "Oh, that is most wonderful...let us feast friends!"

She really didn't like tofu...at all...but...

"Why not?" She shrugged, "I am kinda hungry."

* * *

It was night again and she was back on the couch...again.

She was also alone...again.

By Azar, why didn't she just take up on Dick's offer for her to stay in Vic's room? Maybe she was feeling nice...hell she was nice...she just didn't really know how to express it. Years of suppressing her emotions to gain control of her powers can do that to a person. Sometimes she wondered what it was like to smile casually, to be confident or even to have feeling with members of the opposite sex...

Sigh.

She was nineteen now and even after four years had passed since that...incident...she couldn't let go. It was slightly disconcerting, why wouldn't she let go?

Her fingers flicked through the pages of 'Ninteen Eighty Four' as she read the chapter on 'Newspeak' it was fascinating but not enough to distract herself from her thoughts. Her hair sometimes flicked in front of her face—she really did need to get it cut soon, or at least trimmed—and her fingers subconsciously kept flicking them away from her face. It was dim in the room, but she could still see, could still read...it wasn't like she needed glasses anyway, she wasn't even fully _human_.

"Hi Rae!"

For the second time that day she fell off the couch, this time it really did hurt, "Gar, why do you insist on doing that?"

"Coz, the look on your face makes it worth it every time." He handed her a mug.

"What's this?"

"I'm pretty sure this is what us normal people call hot chocolate." He chuckled.

Her brows rose and she took a sip, it was good, "This is good."

He gave her a thumbs up, "The best, obviously, comes right out of a sachet."

"Funny." She rolled her eyes, "So, what're you doing here? Decided that annoying me during the day time wasn't enough?"

"Something like that." He grinned and she caught a glimpse of the pair of fangs he owned, "I thought I'd keep you company."

"Why?"

"Because..." He shrugged, "Well, I couldn't sleep either."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence between them as Garfield continued to sip his own hot chocolate. She scrutinised him for a bit, what was he doing? Seriously! Garfield didn't try to company people; he was selfish and didn't care about others. All he cared about was his own interests.

"Look," He started, "If you don't want to tell me what the real reason is for you to sleep out here, then that's fine." He scrutinised his own mug to see if there was any hot chocolate left, "There's a good movie on now." He scrambled for the remote and turned the TV on.

"It's not one of those stupid cartoon movies about monkeys with superpowers, is it?"

"No," His eyes never left the screen, "It's a real movie...one of my favourites." He grinned at her, "Casablanca." His ears twitched, "Its good."

Her brows rose once more...'Casablance'? Since when did Garfield like movies like those? Movies that did not feature ugly cartoon monkeys who tried to become ninjas? She sighed and saw that he was really into the movie, usually he always interrupted a perfectly good movie with armpit farts or burps but now...he was really into it.

"I guess it can't be too bad."

His eyes twinkled when he looked at her, "Don't worry Rae, this movie is fucking brilliant."

And that was how she found herself watching 'Casablance' with Beast Boy of all people. Isn't it weird how events turn out?

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**A/N: Hope you liked it...I worked quite hard on this one teehee...reviews please!**


	5. Sexual Healing

**A/N: New Chappie...hopefully you'll like it...and thanks for all the reviews! I'd be heartbroken if I didnt get any...even if they were only critical ones!**

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**Chapter 5**

The morning was cold, he noted, that was weird...it was summer...the mornings were never cold. But then again, it was still dark outside; the sun was barely up and it created a sort of dark purple shimmer to the sky. It reminded him of a certain empath that had her head on his shoulders, snoring—though he knew that she would deny it, empaths, obviously, don't snore—and she was fast asleep, the strain to keep awake in the middle of the night to watch 'Casablanca' must've been a hard for her. It wasn't that hard for him though, he absolutely loved the movie; it was one of the movies that made him want to become an actor.

Back when he was in the Doom Patrol Rita, Steve and he himself would snuggle up in their bed every Saturday night and watch endless movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood, it fascinated him. He would soon try his hand at acting out monologues for his former family and Rita would laugh and clap and tell him that he would become a great actor one day, and though Steve never said anything and only told him off for delaying training, Garfield liked to think that Steve also thought that he could act, that he was actually proud of his son.

He chuckled.

Suddenly he felt the weight on his shoulder shift.

"Mmrghh..." Raven grumbled.

"Morning Rae!" He squealed, he knew it would annoy her but he thought she needed a wakeup call anyway.

"Mmrghh..." She rubbed her eyes lethargically, "What are you doing here, Logan?"

She seemed to have forgotten that they spent the night watching _the _most _amazing _movie _ever_. He could have a bit of fun with that.

He grinned, "Don't you remember, Rae? Last night we confessed our love for each other and we made sweet, sweet love to the music of Marvin Gaye." It was hard to keep a straight face as her face crumpled to shock horror, "I can't believe you would forget such an event, baby doll. I mean, we made love, here on the couch, in the Common Room."

Her eyes widened, her skin flushed and he thought he could hear something break from behind him.

It was so worth it.

"We...what?" Her voice was like a knife, "We..." She placed her hands on her chest then looked at him, a brow quirked at his direction, "But I'm still wearing clothes..." She shot a glare at him and all he could do was laugh, "Logan."

"Yes?" He fluttered his lashes at her.

"Out." Her voice was ice, "Now."

"But I'm in the Common Room." He whined, his ears drooping melodramatically, "There is no more 'out'!"

She rubbed her forehead patiently with her fingers, "OK, Logan, let's do it this way...I will count to three and after three you will be gone...understood?"

He gulped...maybe it wasn't worth it after all.

"One..." She held out a finger, "Two..."

With instant animal instincts, Garfield rushed out of the Common Room as quickly as he could. He wiped his forehead; he had a feeling that if he had stayed in the Common Room for one more second then he would be pulverised black energy. It wasn't exactly a situation he wanted to be in but it was fun to tease her while he could. She had to have a sense of humour somewhere behind that whole dark little loner figure she played constantly. Someday he was gonna make her smile, he just had a gut feeling that one day she would laugh at his jokes without rolling her eyes or crossing her arms.

Yep, he was gonna do it and when he did, he was going to rub it into her chakra embedded face.

Grin.

He could imagine the victory dance already and it involved lots of disco dancing and hip bumping...yes, he was that good.

"And when I get that feeling," He sang to himself as he walked down the corridors of the Titans Tower towards his room, "I want sexual healing...sexual healing-"

"Garfield, why are you singing of the healing by sexual acts? Is it not crude to speak of it in public in the terran culture?" Starfire interrupted his singing.

He shook his head, how did she sneak up on him, "Er, well...it's a song I heard on the radio this mornin'." He lied.

"Oh." She gave a little gasp of delight, "That is most marvellous, friend Garfield." She smiled and he noticed it light up the room, "May I ask where you are going, friend Garfield?"

He shrugged, "I'm going to go to my room to get my clothes and towel. I can't stay in the clothes I wore yesterday."

"I agree, friend Garfield, you are starting to smell like an over-ripe Glarmuck." She stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Oh, really?" He asked, with no clue on what the hell a glarmuck was, "I didn't know I smelt that bad."

She nodded, "Friend Cyborg tells me that you must stop buying deodorant from the dollar store. I believe that I support this statement."

"Well, _friend _Cyborg should really realise that I'm broke."

Starfire's eyes widened in shock, "You are broken? Where? I shall get friend Raven to heal you!"

He waved his arm frantically, "No, no...it means that I don't have any money. I'm not broken at all...seriously."

They walked side by side until they reached the elevator and almost by impulse, Beast Boy pressed the down button as his room was on the floor below. He rolled his eyes as he saw the elevator was still on the ground floor, it was gonna take a while to come up here.

"By the way, Star..." He glanced at the elevator sign and saw that it had only reached the first level, "Howwas the trip to good ol' Gotham?"

She blushed, and she did it prettily, hell she did everything prettily. She could make crime fighting a pretty sexy sport and that was rare. Since when was crime fighting sexy?

"It was...fun. Mr. Bruce Wayne is not as mean as Robin makes him sound; he is a very nice man in my opinion. He told me I looked beautiful and that he wasn't sure how Robin was able to 'snag' me."

He patted he on the shoulder, hell she was tall...she was the same height as he was and he thought that ever since his sudden growth spurt, he was pretty tall.

"That's good then, Kori. You look pretty pleased with yourself; did you do anything else after the dinner party?"

If she was blushing before, Beast Boy was sure now she was having a fever. Her face was _so _red; it looked like a strawberry; a pretty cute one, but still a strawberry. It was his turn for his eyes to widen.

"Nuh-uh."

"I believe the correct reply would be 'uh-huh'." She gave him a quick hug then released again, "If you do not mind me saying, friend Garfield, it was most wondrous!" She smiled and he almost forgot that what she was talking about was sex...with Dick.

God, that was wrong.

"Mmmm..." He tugged at his collar, "Wow...er...OK...I'm glad for you two." The elevator door suddenly opened, "I'm gonna go now, toodles for now sweet cheeks." He winked at her and entered the elevator.

Did he just say toodles?

Wow, he really was disturbed,

He suddenly slapped his own forehead.

No wonder Raven didn't want to sleep in Kori's room again! She saw them! They probably didn't see her since they were a bit...distracted but he was positive that she saw them.

He shrugged to himself.

Well, if he had witnessed it he would probably do the same as Raven was doing, avoid the subject completely and never ever speak of it to anyone.

He hummed 'Sexual' Healing' once more as the elevator went down and since h figured no one was watching, he sniffed at his arm pits.

"Wow," He muttered to himself, "I really do smell like an over-ripe glarmuck."

* * *

"Hey."

Raven looked up at him with a book in her hand. Typical Raven, no matter where she was there was always a book in hand; he had his suspicions that even on missions she had kept a book tucked safely in her pocket.

Wait, did she have pockets in her leotard?

Probably not...

How about her cape? Maybe she had one in her cape!

"No, I don't have pockets in my cape." Raven rolled her eyes, "You think too loud, and you don't even think about important things."

He faked indignity, "The thoughts in my head are private, Rae."

"God," She crossed her arms, "You can't even do sarcasm right. Seriously, Logan, I need to teach you a thing or two."

"Whatever Rae, you know you love me really." He waggled an eyebrow at her, "Here." He handed her a mug.

"Hot chocolate?" Her brows rose.

Beast Boy grinned, "Yep."

He sat himself next to her, leaving a bit of space in between them of course, and started the movie. Tonight they were watching 'High Sierra'. He smiled to himself as he thought of the very first time he watched this movie with Rita and Steve.

Raven glanced at him, "Do you have a thing for Humphrey Bogart or something? He was in 'Casablanca' as well."

"Yea, he's cool. Great actor." He said off-handedly.

He sipped a bit of his hot chocolate and gave a huge sigh.

Chocolate was good for the tummy.

"Raven." He turned to look at her, "You saw Kori and Dick two nights ago didn't you?"

He could see that she was trying to keep her emotions in check, "Saw them what? Whatever are you talking about, Gar?"

"Mmm...well if you really want me to say it out loud..."

She shook her head, "No, really it's fine." She sighed and looked at her mug of hot chocolate, she hadn't even touched it, it was blasphemous! "Yea...well...not on purpose."

"Of course not." He said simply, "Must've been weird though. I mean Kori doing the dirty? Yea she has the hottest body I have ever seen on _anyone_ but she's so cute...and innocent." He grinned, "A bit like me."

"You are neither cute nor innocent. I saw you bring a girl up to your room once." She stated.

He raked his hand through his hair nervously, "Well...yea...but..."

"Hey. I'm not judging you, I'm just saying."

"Oh. Well...yea." He blushed an odd shade of purple, "It was Vic's idea anyway. He was all like 'Dude, you're eighteen...you can't stay a virgin forever' plus she was a pretty decent girl."

"As I said before, I'm not here to judge you."

"Well...OK...I'll shut up now."

She gave him a weird look, "Bout time you did. I was wondering when you would actually shut up and enjoy the movie."

"Oh, yea, the movie."

He blushed as he saw that she really wasn't paying attention to what he was saying; either she didn't care or she didn't think it was significant. Why would she? It wasn't really her business to know whether or not he was still a virgin or not. It was nobody's business.

Still...

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**A/N: Review...please?**


	6. Meditating

**A/N: Yes I know I haven't updated as quickly as I would like but I had a minute writer's block for a moment so I took a bit longer on this one...and oh yea...the whole Beast Boy not being a virgin thing that I brought up in the previous chappie, I jus wanted to show how insecure Beast Boy actually was...so yea...hahah...hope you guys got that.**

**I still loveth all you guys for actually reading this fanfic. glows happily**

**Oh, and have you guys noticed my obsession with people and their eyebrows? Seriously, its the only facial expression I'm goot at explaining grin**

**Toodles now! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 6**

There were two more months left.

_Two _more months before she was to be free of the insufferable _thing _everyone called Beast Boy.

What the hell was up with him?

He hadn't stopped coming over at night to make her watch movies from the Golden Age and he never got back to his room once she was asleep. By Azar, his room was probably clean right now because it was so untouched for two weeks. They would talk...well...he would talk and she would listen. Well, pretend to listen and he would switch from normal Garfield to new Garfield continuously and it was quite disconcerting.

She _really _hated surprises.

She stared up from her herbal tea and saw Garfield making one of his lame jokes while Kori encouraged it further by laughing so hard that Raven was surprised that her only female friend wasn't choking on the glazed doughnut Cyborg had gotten for the team's lunch break.

He stopped making his jokes for a while and gave a cheeky wink at Raven.

Her brows quirked.

He grinned then went back to guzzling down the last of the doughnuts, to the dismay of Cyborg, though sometimes Raven did wonder whether or not Cyborg needed any food at all.

"Hey, Raven?"

She turned to her left to see an extremely serious looking Dick, "Yea?"

"You've been quite these past couple of weeks..." she could _feel _that he was serious, "I mean, quieter than usual. Like...quiet."

"I'm surprised you noticed," She droned sarcastically, "What with you two constantly being all over each other all the time."

There was no mistaking who the 'two' were. Ever since they had come back from Gotham Robin had always tried to hide their 'secret' making out sessions but Cyborg and Beast Boy always managed to find them, the video camera in Cyborg also helped the duo in the process of blackmailing the leader into giving them more free time away from training time.

That was understandable though, Robin could get a bit obsessed sometimes.

It was Robin's turn to raise a brow, his mouth contorted as if had just sucked on a lemon, "That was uncalled for Raven and you know it."

There was an awkward silence in between them and Raven bowed her head in shame.

"I know...I'm sorry." she grimaced and gave what seemed to be a sigh multiplied by a hundred, "I'm sorry. I'm just not myself...J haven't had much sleep lately and well..." she tugged uncomfortably at a slouchy T-shirt she had borrowed from Kori since there didn't seem to be any trouble out in Jump City today, "I haven't been able to meditate recently and it's causing me to be more reserved, if I can be any more reserved than I am now...my powers aren't really doing as well as usual..." She hesitated before looking up to him with a shrug.

"Is it Garfield?" Raven looked at him in surprise and he raised a hand as if to stop her from saying anything, "Vic's told me that he keeps you 'company' every night and he's told me that you guys do more movie watching than sleeping. I can keep Garfield away if you want." he glanced at his girlfriend and two friends arguing over whether tofu should be incorporated into doughnut recipes or not, "It'll give you a chance to meditate and all. Restore your powers." He added.

She sighed, "He _is _an annoying idiot at times...scratch that...all the time and I admit I don't like my sleep interrupted by him but he intends well."

"Intuition or...?" His brows rose inquiringly.

"Both." She absently placed a finger on her chakra and it glowed briefly, "Both." She repeated, "All I need is some private time from time to time. Beast Boy can stay if he wants, that is his own choice. Not that I enjoy his company, mind you." Her head was starting to ache, "Is it just me then?"

"Just you what?"

"Am I the only one who finds him infuriating? Everyone else seems to enjoy his presence." She shook her head, "I just don't understand why he insists on bothering me so much with his video games and his bland jokes."

He shrugged his shoulders at her, "I don't really know either. Maybe he likes a bit of a challenge...I know I've never had the easiest relationship with him..." his voice trailed off for a couple of seconds before he spoke again, "but I think he wants the attention...he craves it. It's like he's trying to prove to something or...someone...that he isn't a useless part of the team. Or that he isn't useless, full stop. He needs acceptance...he probably feels like the new kid in high school. Take it easy on him, Raven, he'll grow up soon."

Suddenly a dark shadow fell over Raven and Dick and it caused them to look up and see what was blocking the light. A glowing single red eye looked at them curiously and he placed a metallic hand on Raven's shoulders and one on Robin's. His face was a canvas for concern but Vic was always like that, he was the older brother that everyone loved, he could be annoying sometimes—especially when he got all obsessed over the T-car—but it was hard to dislike him. He was too nice.

"What are you two looking all serious about, then?" He asked, his booming voice tuned into an almost whisper, "Not cheating on poor Kori, are ya now?" He grinned and his human eye twinkled mischievously.

"Vic..." Robin said seriously.

"I'm just joking, all right!" He grinned and slapped Robin on the back, "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt Star. So, seriously, dude, it's like lunchtime now and I doubt there are gonna be any crimes today." He looked out of the window absently, "Too nice a day to look like you've both been carved from stone."

"Raven's powers have been acting up lately. Since her room isn't available she hasn't been resting properly. She needs to meditate." He sighed, "Any ideas?"

"I could tell Gar to piss off, for a start. I know he's been making you watch _those _movies, Raven."

Raven shook her head, "No, he has good intentions and I should respect that but I would like it if I had some time to myself...I don't know...borrow someone's room once in a while so I can meditate? Preferably someone who wouldn't mind the smell of incense." She added as an afterthought.

"Well...You could always do it in the training room." Vic suggested.

"No. It is too bright there, I don't need darkness but I cannot meditate somewhere too bright, it disrupts my thoughts...I cannot use Robin's room since his one has disappeared like mine..."

"You could use Kori's room. I'm sure she won't mind." Dick replied.

She blushed for half a second before she gained control over her emotions again, "No, I don't think I'll be able to."

"How bout mine?"

She pondered on this for a moment, "I don't think so, not without risking your equipment. I'm magic and magic makes technology haywire just as technology makes magic haywire."

"Really, dude? Coz I've never gone haywire near you."

"You're still human, my magic can't touch that." She gave a small smile, "I guess this means I'll just have to figure out a way of meditating by myself."

"You could always meditate in _my _room."

The three Titans looked up to see who had spoken up and was surprised to see the green teen looking uncharacteristically concerned. He scratched his ears absently and gave an impish grin; his white fangs revealing themselves in a non-threatening manner.

"Yes, I am sure Beast Boy's room will be sufficient for friend Raven." Starfire smiled softly at her friend, "You need all the rest you will need."

"We were talking that loud, huh?" Cyborg muttered, his one hand scratching his head curiously.

"Yea...the whole exchanging tofu recipes with Kori was going a bit stale..." He wringed his wrists, "But seriously Rae...you could if you wanted to." He chuckled nervously, "I mean I don't really mind the smell of incense and all that junk you need for doing the whole meditating mojo thing so yea." He raked a nervous hand through his mass of green hair, "I don't mind."

Her mouth twisted to that of suspicion.

"I won't annoy you." He grinned and his brows waggled, "I mean it's not like you're not gonna blast me off into space if I did try to interrupt your meditating."

"I didn't think you could actually display concern, Garfield." She sighed, "I shall think on it."

"Sweet!" He high fived Cyborg.

Maybe she shouldn't have told him she was going to mull over it, now he was going to nag her about it every chance he got.

Or if he didn't...

Hell would probably freeze over.

* * *

Beast Boy hadn't come to make her watch another Humphrey Bogart movie tonight, it was strange, he had been doing it for the past two weeks non-stop and though she didn't like him and thought that his company was useless, the Common Room felt quite empty without his laughter and his idiotic comments.

Sigh.

So, if she was so annoyed at him, why was she heading where she thought she was heading? Her footsteps were silent on the metallic floors but in her head they seemed to be ringing loud and clear. Her palms were sweating but she knew that her face betrayed no sense of nervousness or anxiety or even confusion. Her face was, well, her face and she knew how to control it. She liked being in control and well, she had to be in control. Emotions left her out of control, thus making her weak and she was _not _weak.

She shook her head.

Her hand reached out to knock on the door but she hesitated. Did she _really _need to do this? Couldn't she meditate elsewhere?

Well, she thought, of course she could. The Common Room was available and there was no one there to snap her out of her meditative state. Yet...there was something missing...it wasn't just her incense—she could meditate without them but they smelled really nice—but the atmosphere in the Common Room was dead. In the daytime there was always some sort of laughter or videogame playing in the background, something that ticked her off, but now that she had some peace and quiet she felt a little unsettled. Noises were exaggerated, shadows were intimidating and the dark had no gradation; it was just black.

She sighed.

Her hand lifted up once more and this time she did knock.

She waited for a couple of seconds, turned to go but then heard the swooshing noise that the doors made.

"Mmrgh..." A green hand rubbed his eyes, "Rae?" His words came out as mumbles, "What time is it?"

Her jaw almost dropped.

Almost.

By Azar...

What was he wearing?

Scratch that...what _wasn't _he wearing?

She tried to look anywhere else but it was hard, "Late...I...er...wanted to take you up on that offer."

He was topless and _wondrously_ so; his abs seemed to have been carved into his torso, his arms sculpted nicely enough to be admired and his shoulders—she blushed at the thought—they were _magnificent_...she always liked shoulders..._wide _shoulders...they always seemed to look like they could carry the weight of the world's problems on them and it didn't hurt that it made her sigh—albeit inwardly—every time she saw a good pair. They were...

...wait a minute; this was Garfield Logan she was talking about. Obnoxious and idiotic Beast Boy who thought that repeating the word 'do' was hilarious.

"Er...what offer?" His eyes were glazed and she began to regret her decision to come to his room but then they widened in recognition, "Oh, _that _offer. Sure, sure..." he rubbed his eyes once more and gave a little yawn that sounded more like a mew of a cat, "come in."

"You sure?" She quirked her head questioningly, "I mean it _is _late and you _were_ sleeping...I can come back-"

He waved a hand dismissively, "Don't worry bout it...just come in and do your thing. I'll be quite, I promise, hell I'll probably be fast asleep and..." he glanced at himself and realised he was only in his Beast Boy boxers, "I should probably get me some clothes." He grinned sheepishly and went back into his room to go find a T-shirt or something.

Raven followed him in and looked around the room curiously; it was messy but not to the point that it looked like something had exploded there and it didn't look hygienic but Raven figured that if it wasn't then Beast Boy's sense of smell would go crazy, he _was _part animal after all. She continued to look around the room when she found a couple of sticks on the floor, they almost looked like incense sticks. She looked at them closer and picked them up to inspect them and was strangely delighted to find out that they _were _incense sticks.

"Hey Garfield..." she called out as she saw him come out of the pile of clothes he was rummaging through, "Why do you have incense sticks?"

He looked confused for a moment but then realised what she was holding, "Oh yea..._those_..." He put on a T-shirt that looked like it hadn't been washed for months, "I picked them up from you room before it was...you know...destroyed...I mean you had loads so I didn't think you would mind."

"You went in my room?" Her brows rose, "Without my permission?" Her voice rose a little but then she shook her head, "Can't say I'm surprised, Logan." She smiled inwardly as he grinned, "What did you take them for anyway?"

"Oh." He blushed and it was quite odd to see him blush up close; he blushed a strange shade of purple, "I was er...trying to set the mood for..." he raked his hands through his hair, "you know."

She smirked, "I figured...nothing like incense to make a girl more willing, eh?" She cocked a head at the incense she was holding, "Can I light these? They help me concentrate."

"Oh...yea...sure..."

"Well..." She smiled, "Thanks for letting me in at this time...I really couldn't sleep back there." She looked at his bed briefly, "Well...you can go back to sleep if you want...I won't be making that much noise anyway."

Garfield gave her a thumbs up and one of those cocky little smiles he had whenever he thought he had achieved something, "Sweet!" He scrambled back into his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

She sighed before floating mid air in the cross legged position, her arms at her side.

Clear you mind of all thoughts, she dictated herself, do not think.

Feel.

"Azarathe...Metrion...Zinthos...Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos..." She chanted repeatedly until thought disappeared and was replaced by sense.

It was a grapple to meditate; it pushed you to deal with your feelings in hopes to achieve peace with your emotions. Yet it was how she achieved her full strength in battle, she had to conquer Rage and all the other emotions contained in her, she had to yet she didn't want to...

"Azarathe...Metrion...Zinthos...Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos..."

"Goodnight baby doll."

Raven opened one eye and cringed as she remembered his prank two weeks ago. How could he do that to her? She was so freaked out, it was unbelievable. It was the only time he had called her 'baby doll' in replacement of 'Rae' and it was infuriating.

"I much preferred it when you called me Rae..."

There was no reply but she was sure that the smug and happy emotion she could feel emanating from this room resonated from him.

She grumbled then went back to meditating; she had a feeling that tomorrow she would need all the strength she could muster.

* * *

**A/N: So yes, we got to see Beast Boy half nekkidddd...**

**...WOO!**

**And yea, BB now calls Raven baby doll ever since that prank he pulled on her. **

**So yea, next chappie I promise you I shall give you some action!**

**evil laugh**

**review...please?**


	7. Titans GO!

**A/N: YAY! I finito-ed this chappie (albeit not my best one...i suck at action scenes) and there are kinda no BB/Rae scenes in i but I thought it would fit the stories...I mean I can't stick the Titans in their Tower all day, can I? Well, anyway enjoy and hope you haven't lost hope on me!**

**----------------------**

**Chapter 7**

Raven opened an eye and saw light streaming through the curtains.

It was morning already.

How the hell did she spend the whole night meditating?

It was possible of course, the mind was separated from the body and meditation commanded you to _feel_ instead of _think_ which could result in her body forgetting that it still had to be conscious throughout the meditation process.

Of course, it could've just been because she had fallen asleep in the midst of her meditation, but she was going to ignore that excuse.

She dropped from midair so that her feet actually touched the ground and she shivered as the cold floor came in contact with the sole of her feet. It made her completely alert to her surroundings and she noted that she was still in Beast Boy's room and that he wasn't in the room anymore which meant that it was probably already quite late in the morning as he was usually the last one to wake up.

Damn.

She was more drained that she previously thought.

A little yawn escaped her lips and she sighed. Really, what _was _she thinking when she chose to accept Garfield's offer? She must've been _extremely _tired to have even thought of it as a decent location to meditate in.

The door _swooshed _open and the bright light almost _blinded _her; seriously, what time was it? Why was it so bright? Her footsteps were soft as her bare feet touched the corridor floors with a silent _thump-thump_ in time with the steady beating of her heart. She felt better already, she realised, and that was good, her powers were needed in their field; without them she wasn't sure that her friends wanted to be with her, by Azar she wasn't sure if her friends would be friends with her without her powers.

Sigh.

"Noon greetings, friend Raven!" She felt a constricting force around her body, "It is most joyful to see you up on this glorious day. I am wishing to initiate the nic of pics!" She fluttered her eyelashes prettily, "Will you come join us?"

"Er...the nic of pics?"

"Yes! The Earth ceremonial placing of a blanket onto the ground so that we may eat copious amounts of delicious food in the outdoors." She seemed to glow with happiness at the prospect of having a picnic.

"A picnic?" She asked dryly.

"Yes! That also!"

Raven bit her lip and looked down the long corridor, "I'll think on it."

Starfire grabbed a hand and giggled, "Oh, you must come, Raven. It will be the utmost of fun. We will feast and play and..." a rupture of giggles interrupted her monologue, "...I shall be doing the making of the out with dear Robin!" She sighed, "Oh, it will be glorious. _Do _say you will come...I will need a girl who is a friend to keep me company. I miss our girl talks."

Her face softened and she realised that she herself had been missing the girl talks they used to have frequently. Now they still had these talks but they were becoming infrequent quite quickly and she really didn't want that. She _needed _Starfire, both as a friend and a sister.

"I'll go." She touched Kori's arm lightly, "Just let me get ready then we'll go as soon as possible, OK?"

"Thank you!" She shook Raven's hand quite vigorously and she was a bit wary of her hand falling off, "By the way..."

"Yes?" Her brow rose.

"Why, friend Raven, were you coming out of Garfield's room?"

She blushed then shook her head, "I took up his offer."

"What offer is this, friend Raven? Is it of the romantic sort?" She asked suggestively, her eyelashes fluttering in hope.

Raven couldn't help but roll her eyes at the Kori's shining hope that she was in some sort of relationship with Garfield.

It was ridiculous!

"No..." she started, "he said that I could meditate in his room, remember?"

Kori seemed to ponder on this for a moment, her delicate finger touching her face in thought, "Yet you decided to do this at night, friend Raven. Friends do not go into other friends' rooms at night to meditate. Especially _boys _who are the friends." She paused for a while, her fingers moving to her lips, "Do you like him, friend Raven?"

"I like him enough." She stated simply before biting her lip anxiously at the image of a topless Beast Boy suddenly popping up in her head.

"What I mean to say is—how do we put it in Earth words?—do you have the crushing on him? Or the fancying? I am not sure which word is right since I am not entirely familiar with them. I do believe they are a lesser format of the word 'love', though."

Raven's eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the very idea, "Kori! How can you think of such a thing? This is _Garfield _we're talking about! He can't even read a book without getting 'book-sick'!"

Her friend cross her arms and it was her turn to raise a brow, "Raven, sister, he is not as unintelligent as he looks. You are just stuck on the impression of what he was like when we first formed the Teen Titans." She looked a bit cross and Raven realised that Starfire wasn't floating for the moment, "You must not be giving him such a hard time, as you humans say it, and you must try to give him the slack." She smiled once more and her feet left the ground again, "But enough of this, I am happy as long as you are happy, friend Raven."

She enclosed Raven in a tight hug and this time Raven didn't struggle this time, she was lost in thought of what Kori had just conveyed to her. She felt like rolling her eyes but she knew that what Kori had told her had some grain of truth in it; not the liking part of course, but of the part where Beast Boy was supposedly not as unintelligible as he looked. It was slightly hard to believe—OK, not slightly, it was extremely hard to believe—that he could be smarter than he looked but it wasn't the first time she was wrong, but if she was she wasn't going to like it.

"Er...yea...great." She answered shortly, "Well, I'll be in the showers if anything happens. See you."

"That would be most wondrous; I shall meet you in the Common Room, yes?" Kori's head titled slightly in question.

Raven nodded in reply, "Yes."

With that her friend floated away, her lips spurting out random fits of giggles as she flew away. Raven shook her head and had to smile at that last image, Kori was essential to the team, she held them together in a way that no one else could do; she was the naive girl who was always happy, always joyful. Where would she be without her?

She gave a start as she realised that she was already in front of the bathroom and then stepped inside, making sure that no one was actually in the showers. There was still a bit of mist from the previous person who used it so anything that was glass-like was covered in a hazy sort of transparent layer. The bright fluorescent lights hurt her eyes and she had to squint just to look around the bathroom to make sure that nothing disgusting was lying around.

It was a hot day and it was even hotter since she had woken up at noon, so she decided that a cold shower would be the best option for her. She took off her T-shirt then stepped into the shower, sighing gratefully as the cold water trickled over her hot and bothered self. She liked showers; cold showers, hot showers, in between showers, they were all good as long as it was from a shower. Baths were good and old but she was impatient and didn't like the whole 'doing nothing in a tub' deal as it was a complete waste of time.

She took some soap and sniffed it curiously—it smelled of cranberries—before lathering it and washing herself with it.

It was nice.

All of a sudden a ringing sound was heard from outside of the bathroom and Raven heaved a sigh.

Dammit.

Why did the alarm go off when she actually found time to enjoy herself?

She hurriedly dried herself—with a peculiar combination of a towel and a hand dryer—and rushed to get changed; her clothes hung on the hanger on the back of the bathroom door and she struggled to get her leotard and cape on. By Azar, what was with superheroes and super tricky costumes to put on? She harrumphed as the hood of her cape had finally covered her head and she didn't bother to open the door, it was too much time wasted so she phased out and straight into the Common Room where the big screen TV lit up to show a large image of the mayor in all his moustached glory before he suddenly disappeared.

"So, what's the situation Robin?"

Robin frowned at the screen then glanced at Raven for half a second, "Brother Blood broke into Titans East and they're going down fast. We need to get there ASAP." He took out his communicator and shouted into it, "Titans go!"

"Er...Robin...we're right next to you." Beast Boy scratched his head.

"Oh right..." Robin laughed nervously, "Titans go!"

With that everyone flew out of the Tower through the roof; Starfire flying and grabbing hold of Cyborg with her super strength and Beast Boy turning into a pterodactyl and carried Robin into the sky. Raven followed in suit and flew out of the building and towards another T-shaped building at the east of Jump City, a complete replica of their own. Already from quite a far distance she could hear explosions and shouts from the Titans East; they had to be there...and fast.

"Bumblebee...what's the situation?" She heard Robin speak into his communicator in an attempt to contact the Titans East's leader.

There was a slight crackle in the reply but it was still a reply nonetheless, "Robin...we're..." crackle, "...barely holding him back! He's..." crackle, "...got loads of henchmen...too strong..." crackle, "we need help ASAP!"

"Gotcha Bee." He nodded subconsciously to himself then turned the communicator off.

They flew as fast as they could and Raven felt the air around her _whoosh _uneasily and it was difficult trying to get her mind off the fact that she felt slightly air-sick. The team arrived to witness slight déjà vu as it was the exact replica of what had happened a month ago when Brother Blood attempted to infiltrate the Titans Tower.

Raven breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that all of the Titans East were fighting _against _Brother Blood and not _for _him; Cyborg had created chips to insert into every Titans' head so that Brother Blood's mind control abilities were useless against them, and it was working.

Sigh.

Starfire and Beast Boy dropped both Robin and Cyborg to the ground and rushed to help the other team. Bumblebee wasn't exaggerating, they were barely holding the henchmen back and Bumblebee was even worse off as she was fighting off Brother Blood herself.

"Cyborg, you deal with Brother Blood." Robin said sternly, his voice ragged, "The rest of you fight off the henchmen! Titans go!"

From the corner of her eye, Raven could see that Aqualad was about to be confronted by two of those henchmen. He didn't know it as he was still fighting off one man and Raven quickly fumbled around with her cloak before attacking.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" She shrieked and the couch—with the help of some black energy surrounding it—hurtled itself at the henchmen, possibly knocking them out unconscious, as a bewildered Aqualad nodded in recognition and thanks.

It was chaos; Starfire's green bolts flew everywhere, Beast Boy was mauling five henchmen at a time in the form of a tiger and Robin was putting his skills as an acrobat to good use.

She pressed her fingers to her temples, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The effect was almost immediate; her eyes glowed black—if that made any sense at all—and with a single movement of her hand at least a quarter of the enemy collapsed due to sheer force that pressed at their chests in the form of black energy.

"Thanks dude!" The green teen grinned and went back to attacking another guy, this time in the form of a gorilla.

Suddenly a figure toppled over and Raven flew towards it; it was Speedy. His arm was cut so deeply that it would take months for the wound to heal naturally. He groaned and blood trickled out from his mouth. She shook her head before taking hold of the wounded part firmly—though she loosed up once he started writhing in pain—and concentrated on healing it. She transferred as much energy as she could to get his cells to regenerate muscle and skin faster and when she opened her eyes she was relieved to see an almost brand new version of Speedy.

"Thanks Raven." He grinned and took out an arrow, "Good as new."

"Yea, well-"

"LOOK OUT!"

Raven turned to see who had screamed in her direction and was shocked to be met with another henchman. She placed a hand in front of her before chanting her incantation and watched as black energy bound and gagged her opponent until he turned practically blue.

"Where the hell are these guys coming from?" She asked, not really expecting an answer, "They seem to be popping out from nowhere!" She shook her head exasperatedly and knocked another man unconscious, "Didn't I just knock out like half these guys!?"

Starfire shot a blast of her green bolts at an upcoming man, her feet off the ground and her eyes scrunched in frustration, "I do believe I agree with you, friend Raven!" She shouted over the noise, "They do not seem to be finishing even though we are doing the best in the kicking of the butt!"

"I don't think they're human!" Robin said distractedly, his adversary attempting to jab him yet completely missing him as he combined his stick with leaps that rivalled a ballerinas, "They seem to be coming from the same direction! Kid Flash!" Robin called out urgently.

An invisible _swoosh _was felt before the streak came to a halt to reveal Kid Flash, "Yes, Boss?"

"Go there." Robin pointed at the area the henchmen all seemed to be coming from, "Check out what's there and see if there are any suspicious tools. If there are any, grab it and come straight back here."

Kid Flash gave him a thumbs up accompanied with a grin, "Right, Boss...be back in half a second."

There was a second _swoosh _followed by a dizzying array of the colours red, yellow and white. She looked around and was shocked to see Beast Boy being overpowered by the two measly henchmen. There was something wrong in this picture, she thought to herself, and almost as quickly as that thought occurred to her one of them knocked Beast Boy forcibly to the floor and she heard a slight crack when his head touched the ground.

Shit.

She headed towards Beast Boy but Robin interrupted her, "Raven we're almost done here. Go find Cyborg and help him finish Brother Blood off!"

"But-!" She glanced at a groaning green figure then bit her lip.

"Not buts! The henchmen have lessened but there are still many! You have to go help Cyborg! He will not be able to capture Brother Blood without knocking him unconscious and I don't want that. I want Brother Blood alive and conscious!"

She tightened her fists and phased out of the chaos towards Cyborg in frustration. Beast Boy was hurt and he needed to get healed ASAP, she _heard _his skull crack, for God's sakes! From a distance she saw both Bumblebee sprawled on the ground, her chest barely moving to indicate that she was breathing. Raven hurriedly moved next to her to heal her fellow Titan and she gasped as she felt her powers lessening.

"Cyborg, what's the situation?" She asked as she realised that Brother Blood was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at her in disappointment, she guessed it was at himself rather than at her, "He got away." He grimaced the touched his red eye subconsciously, "He got away."

"I'm sorry." She lowered her hood, "We'll get him next time."

"How's Bee doing?" He asked and Raven was surprised at the subject change.

She nodded, "She'll be fine. She just needs some rest and she'll be good as new." She sighed and looked him in the eye, "We'll get him next time, Vic." Her voice was soft.

"Yea..."

"Guys!"

Cyborg and Raven span around as they saw the rest of the Teen Titans rushing into the room they were currently in. Everyone was injured in one way or another; Aqualad had bruises on his neck, Speedy broke his arm, Kid Flash twisted an ankle, Robin had scratches all over him and Starfire's midriff was burnt—though not badly—and she was carrying, dear God, she was carrying Beast Boy who had lost consciousness.

Raven squeaked.

"Cyborg, what happened? Where's Blood?" Robin asked harshly, his breath ragged.

"He got away." Cyborg answered through gritted teeth.

"What!?"

"He got fucking away." He repeated slowly, "He got fucking away."

"How the hell did he get away Cyborg? His mind-powers don't work on us anymore! How the hell, Cyborg? How the hell!?"

Starfire shook her head and raised her voice, "Please, friends, it is not the time to fight. Our comrade is injured. He does not seem to be able to do the waking up!" There was a slight panic in her voice.

Robin seemed to be suppressing another couple of sentence but then he breathed a sigh, "Fine." He looked sharply at the other Titans, "So, how did this happen?"

"Well..." Speedy shook his head, "It was basically an ambush...that was all...no sneaking in, no kidnapping anyone...it was low-grade criminal tactics."

The other Titan East members nodded.

"Does anyone know what he was after?"

Cyborg nodded grimly, "He was trying to hack into the Titans East mainframe. God knows what he was doing but he didn't get to finish it off."

The conversation just flowed over one ear and out of the other as Raven approached the unconscious green teen. She placed a hand over him to feel what was wrong and sighed in relief as she realised it was only a concussion and nothing too serious. She pressed a hand over his skull and channelled every last bit of energy that was needed for it to heal.

Done.

It was done.

He was safe.

"Friend Raven," Starfire asked her as she scooped Garfield in her arms once more, "Will he be OK?"

She nodded grimly and turned her attention back to the conversation.

"...what are we to do? We're in danger as long as he keeps attempting to hack into our mainframe..." Aqualad asked worriedly.

"We'll sit tight and make security tighter." Robin frowned, "That should do. Other than that keep monitoring criminal activities and pay attention to anything technologically related."

"Yes Boss." They all chimed in unison.

"Boo-yah! That's done then..." Cyborg seemed to go back to his optimistic self, "So Raven..."

She regarded him coolly and placed her hood over her head.

"Yes?"

"What were you doing in Beast Boy's room?"

Suddenly all the attention was focused on her.

Sigh.

**----------------**

**A/N: Yes I know I totally suck at the action scenes...this is why I like reviews and critiques coz you guys get to tell me how much you love this story even though there are temporary moments of stupidness (aka this chappie)...well I'm gonna work on the next chap right away coz I worked on this one for too long...hope you guys liked it! **


	8. Waking up

**A/N: Short, I know, but I just HAD to write this chapter, it just came to me when I was daydreaming in biology class...hahahahah...well I like this chapter, hopefully you do too!**

**--------------------------------**

**Chapter 8**

Ow.

His head ached.

He kept his eyes closed for a couple of minutes then opened them suddenly.

It was dark.

"Mmrgh...Where am I?"

Garfield rubbed his temples lethargically and groaned, he realised that his head wasn't hurting anymore, it just felt numb. It was as if someone had injected some painkillers into his skull and it was hard to think; everything was all jumbled up in his head and the words he was thinking of were translated as gobbledegook.

From the corner of his eye he saw some movement and he was instantly alert' movement plus darkness was not usually a good sign. It usually meant that he was in the evil guy's lair because he was incompetent and was inevitably captured by their enemy. His hair stood at its end and he tried to transform into something small but something prevented him from doing it.

Uh-oh.

That was _so _not good.

"Oh," a voice came out of the darkness, "you're awake. I'll call the others; they'll want to see you."

He sighed a breath of relief as he realised that it was Raven that was with him; that throaty, almost sensual voice that came out of the shadows and in his head he could imagine her with her hood over her head, her eyes glowing with irritation at him.

"Ugh..." he squeezed his brows together, "where am I? What happened? How come I can't...change?"

His vision sharpened and he could kinda see her a bit now, it was fuzzy but he could still kinda see, "You got a concussion when you tried to take on too many of Brother Blood's henchman on." Her voice was monotone but he thought she sounded a bit worried but that might've just been his imagination, "That was a _completely _idiotic thing to do." He was _sure _that her voice had an edge to it now.

There was a silence in between them now and Garfield started to twiddle his thumbs.

"I'm going to call the others now." She said finally when the silence became unbearable, "Do not go out from this place." Now _that _was a warning.

The door opened and bright lights streamed into the room, momentarily blinding him but then it closed just as suddenly. He moaned as the sound of the shutting the door pinched the numbness of his head sharply, and he realised then that Raven hadn't finished answering his questions. It was uncomfortable to know that his powers weren't working and he flexed his hands to see if they too were still working. He lay back down on the bed and listened, as he had just realised that it was on, to the steady beating of the heart monitor. The constant _beep-beep-beep-beep_ was comforting to hear.

He was alive.

It was not like he hadn't almost died before; he had, many times and it came with the job so he wasn't that surprised about it. It was just that...Raven's voice made him feel...he didn't know...

The door opened again and once more he was blinded momentarily, he squinted and saw two figures come in and sit themselves beside him.

"Hey dudes..." He croaked.

Dick frowned, "How are you, Gar?"

He nodded weakly, "Been better."

"Dude, you look so beat." Vic said finally, his red eye scanning his best friend, "I can't believe you got a concussion man, what happened?"

"That's what I was gonna ask you guys, what happened back there?"

"From what Raven told us, you tried to beat up like two million henchmen by yourself and got knocked out by one of them." Vic said seriously, "Which, by the way, weren't even _men _at all, were they, Dick?"

Dick shook his head and looked at the ground momentarily, "No, they were made up from some kind of plasmatic substance. _That's _why there seemed to be loads of them even though we had practically beaten them up 'til our fingers bled. Every time one of them died, another one was created." He shook his head more vigorously this time, "It was _insane_. It was a wonder any of us suffered more than a few cuts and bruises."

"Hello!" Garfield pointed at his head, "Concussion here!"

"Right, right." Dick replied absently.

"So..." Garfield paused for a second before continuing, "Did we find out why Brother Blood was in Titans East?"

Cyborg averted his eyes, "No. All we know is that he tried to break into the Titans East mainframe, like he did at our place." He grunted, "Good thing he didn't get anything useful." Dick shot him a look and Cyborg shrugged in reply, "What? I checked, dude."

"Oh...well...That's good, isn't it?"

"No, not really. It means that he's targeting us personally if he's trying to break into the main frame." Robin replied shortly.

"Uh...huh." This was confusing Garfield.

Suddenly a shot of pain went through his head and he groaned. What _had_ they given him?

"B, you OK?" Vic asked, his voice laced with concern.

"What did you guys give me, man? I swear...my head feels numb." He clenched his fist, "I can't transform."

His team mates exchanged a look, "We don't know." Robin stated bluntly.

"You don't _know_!?"

Vic shook his head, "No. Raven was the one who healed you with her powers and all. She said that your transforming abilities will be temporarily disabled because how injured you were."

"Frankly, Raven told us that you would be unconscious for a couple days...not a day." Dick looked straight at him, his masked face concealing whatever he was feeling, "She also said that your powers won't be coming back to you for at least two days after you wake up, so we've called in Kid Flash to substitute for you."

"So, I won't be working for two days?" Garfield grinned then watched as his leader nodded grimly, "Sweet! And Kid Flash'll be here? Boo-yah! I love that guy, seriously."

"Try not to look so pleased with yourself, Gar." Dick grinned, "You'll be training twice as hard once you've recovered."

His shoulders slumped, "No way Dick! I'm ill! You can't do that to me!"

"You so deserve it, man." Vic cut in, "I swear Raven hasn't come out of this room since we got back home!"

"Huh?" Now _that _surprised him.

"Yea, she's been here the whole twenty-four hours you were in here. _Dude_, you so owe her like a million favours!"

Gar's eyes widened, "She's been here for twenty four hours straight!?"

Dick nodded, "I think she's been here trying to quicken your healing process. She was so drained of energy that she almost collapsed when she went to get us before. She was worried." He added as an afterthought.

"How'd you know?" Garfield asked curiously, "She didn't tell you, did she?"

"No. She didn't have to tell me though."

There was an awkward silence as they all remembered the dire situation in where Raven first formed the bond with Robin.

Garfield scratched an ear furtively.

"I should thank her."

"Exactly." Cyborg leered at him then crossed his arms, "By the way, what was she doing in your room two nights ago?"

"Eh?"

"Raven threw a complete bitch fit when I asked her."

Dick rolled his eyes, "Well you _did _ask her in front of everyone from both the Teen Titans and Titans East. I can probably guess why she was upset."

"Did you guys sleep with each other? Was it a one time thing?" Vic asked suddenly, "Coz I would actually kick your ass if you did it only as a one night stand, she deserves better than that, dude. This is _Raven_, we're talking about, you mess with her emotions and you totally mess with her and when you mess with her, no matter how much you and me are best mates, you mess with me."

Garfield waved his hands around frantically, "No! No way! I...I..."

He realised that Dick was looking at him with hard eyes too.

"Seriously, I, er, dudes! I would never! _Never_!" He shook his head in panic, "How could you even think-!? I...never, dude! She...she doesn't see me that way..." a lump appeared stubbornly in his throat, "and I don't...not...I never!" He exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Good." Dick said finally, "Don't toy with her emotion, Garfield. She's fragile just as she is. We _need _her."

Vic in a moment of unusual wisdom spoke up, "If you like her, tell her. Just tell her and if she doesn't like you back then what can you do?" He shrugged at his own question.

"But...I..." Sweat beaded on his forehead, "I don't...I...er..." He shut his eyes for a moment then opened them up again, "Dudes! Please! Even if I did like her...she's...uh...Raven...so that just about explains it."

"She trusts you though. That may be indication enough." Dick stated.

Vic nodded vigorously, "Yea, green man, and apart from us, she trusts like _nobody_!"

The ear scratching begun again, "But I don't like her that way!"

"I'm sure you don't." Robin said in a tone that told him that the team leader didn't believe him in any way.

"Yea, green stain, we believe you don't. Just don't go hurting her, OK?" Cyborg piped up.

Sigh.

Garfield's shoulders slumped on their own accord, "Geez, guys, when did this big brother act start, man? Me and Vic didn't do it to _you _Dick when you first started to date Kori!"

"That's different."

Vic agreed, "Totally."

"Dudes!" Garfield bit his lip and groaned in frustration, "So not cool!"

With that, his two best friends laughed and for once, Garfield didn't feel like laughing with them.

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**A/N: I have an idea of what the next chappie will be like but I'm probably gonna take a while translating that onto an actual piece of writing, so I hope you guys will have the patience to wait for me...teehee...btw...hoped you liked this chappie! Review, please?**


	9. Different

**A/N: My attempt at "drama"...not very good but I'm trying to experiment y'know? I know the transitions between tone is quite fast paced but I did that on purpose...teehee...they may seem a bit ooc in this chappie but I tried my best here...hope you like it, this is one of my longer chapters (apart from chap 7 obviously)! Ciao for now!**

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**Chapter 9**

"Friend Garfield! You are well!"

Garfield choked as a pair of golden arms swung around his neck. He tried to grin as he saw Raven behind Kori rolling her eyes like there was no tomorrow. The grinning stopped because he felt like he was being strangled to death; how the fuck didn't Kori realise how strong she was?

"I am so extremely delighted that you are well, friend Garfield! We have all been extremely worried that it compelled me to do the Tameranian ceremony of healing three times..." She trailed off then whispered softly in his ear so that only he could hear, "Raven was extremely worried. She did not leave your side once when you were in the unconscious state. I do think you should thank her."

His eyes widened at that and for once he had forgotten that Starfire was practically strangling him to death. He had been told twice now in one day and it still shocked him; why would Raven do such a thing? She practically _hated _him and here everyone was telling him that she had stayed with him throughout his knock out as if she actually _cared_.

"Well," she said as she released her death grip from his neck, "I shall be going now, it is my turn to do the cooking and I know that you shall all be disappointed if I did not make my famous blue zorkaberry mustard stew. It will be delicious!"

And with that both Raven and Beast Boy were left alone in the dimly lit infirmary and there was an awkward silence that hung between the two Titans. She sat down on a chair near his bed, stood up, sat back down then stood back up again. He saw her move towards the door but something pulled at him to call her back.

"No...Wait..." he called out, his voice sounding strangely similar to that of a frog's, "Stay."

She looked back at him and he inhaled sharply as he saw her violet eyes pierce him like an arrow. It was funny, he had never noticed how beautiful those eyes were; they were filled with so much hope, longing, pain, and it did help that they were...well...a gorgeous dark indigo colour that he had only seen on the classic actress Elizabeth Taylor, and even that he didn't see in person.

She walked slowly back towards his bed and sat down, "OK."

"So I got knocked unconscious, huh?" He chuckled nervously and his hands subconsciously reached the nape of his neck, "Must've been some punch to have done that."

She continued to look at him with those eyes, "You tried to take out too many at the same time." She said finally, "I tried to heal you the best as I can but I couldn't get you better instantly. I hope this teaches you to be more careful next time." She implied threateningly.

Another awkward silence blanketed the air and all was quiet, all you could hear was the_ beep-beep-beep-beep_ of the heart monitor and if you listened hard—really hard—then you could hear things that were happening right outside the infirmary. Silence was never fun with anyone but it was always exceptionally uncomfortable with Raven. He wasn't sure why, something about her just unnerved him; it wasn't because she was the daughter of Trigon, far from it. It was something that he couldn't really place his finger on and sometimes it bugged him.

"Thank you." He said, hoping to break the stillness that surrounded the two.

She looked up curiously, "What for?"

He rubbed the nape of his neck, "For saving me."

"It was my duty." She shrugged, "It wasn't like I was going to leave you to die."

He chuckled, "Yea, well, I wouldn't have put it past you, baby doll. " He grinned as he glowered at her, "But, seriously." He placed a hand on his chin in thought, "Thank you. Also for staying with me throughout the whole time I was knocked out. _Really_." He put some emphasis on that last word and he had to bite back a smile as she uncharacteristically flushed a pale shade of pink.

"Well...like I said it's not like I was going to leave you to die, and everyone else was really tired so that I volunteered to stand guard. Plus we all wanted to know when you woke up...and we were worried that if anything happened to you we wouldn't be there in time..." She trailed off, her voice barely a whisper.

"Seriously." He looked at her and he was surprised to see that she wouldn't look him in the eye, "Thank you. A lot. Two million thank you's wouldn't be enough." He took hold of her hand—they were so soft!—and grinned, "You're the best, baby doll."

"I..." He saw that she tried to regain herself for a second before she started speaking again, "I'm glad you're OK."

There was another bout of silence but this time it was different; it was comfortable and...content. The room was warmer than usual but the Titans weren't taking any chances of Beast Boy freezing to death just in case his reptilian form kicked in randomly.

They really did care for him, he smiled at the thought, and they did think he was adequate enough to be saved.

He wriggled his fingers and was surprised to find that he was still holding on to Raven's hand and she was letting him keep his hand at the same position it was; lightly touching her delicate fingers and skin so soft that it almost felt natural to keep it there.

He looked up and noticed that she too was looking at their hands, "I didn't think you cared." He said suddenly.

Her head sharply looked up and Garfield flinched at her indigo gaze.

"I don't know what you mean."

He hated this! He knew that she knew what he meant but she never willingly admitted it; it was like trying to pry cheese from out of a mouse's paws and the mouse was winning.

He shook his head in frustration, "You always act like I'm this stupidly, irritating, fucked up, useless guy that has nothing better than be a complete idiot. Am I really? Do I really piss you off that much, Raven? Do you not care what happens to me?" He knew he sounded angry now, or at least loud, but he didn't really care. He wanted to know the truth, "Or do you?"

He grunted in frustration as he couldn't stand up from the stupid bed as he was connected to the IV.

Why wasn't she answering?

"Raven? I _need _to know." His voice sounded childish and whiny even to him but he didn't stop, "Please."

She finally spoke, "I...I..." she gulped before she started emitting that throaty, sensual voice again, "I...care." She hesitated, "I just don't...understand...you."

"Eh?"

"I don't like not understanding. It makes _me _look like an idiot and I _hate _looking stupid." She exhaled loudly, "You _always _make me look like an idiot. It doesn't matter if you intend to or not, but you always do."

The air tasted of anxiety yet relief...it was a weird combination.

He sniffed.

Yes, the air definitely smelled distinctively of her anxiety and, surprisingly, there was also anger. What the hell was she angry about? He was the one who had issues with her behaviour towards him!

"Like that's my fault, Raven." He spat sarcastically, "And what the fuck does that have to do with you caring for me or not?"

She quickly took her hand out of his grip and glowered at him coldly, "It has _everything_ to do with it." Her voice was cold heat, "_Everything_. Not understanding doesn't fucking help me at all; I don't understand how you can be happy when everything around us is just constantly chaos, I don't understand your ability to get along with everyone, I don't understand why the fuck you want me to laugh at one of your completely _stupid _jokes and," he thought she growled but she could've just been clearing her throat, "I don't understand how you can keep being a Titan when every time you transform into an animal it hurts...God, it hurts." She looked down, as if she just realised that she had been raising her voice for the past couple of seconds.

He paused at that and gave her a considering look; she seemed embarrassed but determined all at the same time.

"How did you know?" He asked slowly.

She breathed a sigh, "I'm an empath remember? I can always tell whatever you're feeling unless I'm quite far away or you're suppressing them quite well but whenever I'm close to you I can actually _feel_ and _experience_ it physically." She shook her head and placed her hood over her head, "God Logan, what the fuck do you expect me to say? Of course I fucking care about you, I mean you're my friend, but with all this being an empath and suppressing my emotions and me not understanding, I just...I just don't know how to show it." She clenched her fists, "Nineteen years of suppressing my emotions doesn't exactly help."

Both didn't speak for a considerable amount of time and the tension in the room squeezed out all the comfortableness that they had felt just moments before he posed the question. It was the first time he had heard so many words come out of Raven's mouth and none were sarcastic; they all felt and smelled sincere, frustrated and pissed off, but sincere.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that question when you've been so good to me." He said finally after what seemed to be a decade.

She didn't reply and he watched as she fiddled with a corner of her cape. It was awkward despite his efforts to make it seem less tense. Was it his fault if he was frustrated at her behaviour towards him even though he had tried and tried to make peace with her? He thought not.

"You're different now." She whispered, "I didn't notice it before, it was only when you first woke me up on the couch that I realised you've changed."

Now _that _got him curious, "I'm...what?"

Raven looked him in the eye, "Different. I can't explain it...it's like you're _older _but not really. Sometimes you're like _you_...the normal you...the one I'm used to...the one who cracks up at the thought of plaid ninjas but sometimes..." she shook her head as if that action alone would throw away her worries, "...sometimes I wonder who you are, like when you actually seem like you're considering other people's feelings, and it scares me. It's like that pain that you feel when you change...you used to ignore it and fight it but now..." she seemed lost in thought for a moment, "now you accept it. You embrace it. You take it on like it's a part of you and that no matter how much you try you know it won't change. It's not like you've given up...more like you've understood it, understood how it works. You're not the ignorant little idiot you were before." She gave a small smile though it never touched her eyes, "You're still an idiot though."

He had to laugh at that, Raven was actually humouring him. Yet what she was saying didn't make much sense to him; he was different?

He trailed his fingers onto his green skin to see if there was anything physically different about him, but there didn't seem to be.

But it did make sense, in a way. He did accept the fact that he would always hurt whenever he changed into an animal—all that constricting and enlarging hurt like hell—and he did, kinda, try to be more mature nowadays but he didn't really see the connection.

What was she on about?

"You don't understand." She said shortly, her confidence growing back into her voice, "I don't understand it either so I'm no better help."

"Raven...I'm sorry." He then grinned, "I seem to say that a lot near you, don't I?"

She nodded and her indigo eyes lit up, "Yea, you do."

"I never seem to say the right things at the right time, do I?"

"No...No you don't." She replied after what seemed to be some consideration, "But I guess..."

"You guess...?"

She smelt calm, her anger and frustration dissipating, "I guess I enjoy your company." She smiled once more and this time it did reach her eyes, she even smelt happy, "Casablanca has been growing on me."

His grin grew wider, "See! I knew you'd like it!" He sniggered gleefully, "Humphrey Bogart is amazing, isn't he?"

"I guess he's OK." She said coolly, "Marlon Brando is much better though, in my opinion."

"No way!"

Her smile changed to one that smiled because of a private joke, "The Godfather is way better."

"But...c'mon! Humphrey Bogart! Resistance is futile!" He laughed and smelt that she was also tempted to laugh but kept her face a completely blank canvas but for that smile.

She looked at the clock and sniffed the air, "Well, I better go salvage what we can because I doubt anyone's gonna eat Kori's food. Agreed?" She asked questioningly.

His sense of smell was much stronger and he could tell that she was right; it smelled fruity yet meaty and it smelt like something had died in the room and was left to rot until the end of time.

"Yea...I think you better try to save something from being put into," He wrinkled his nose, "_that_."

"I will. Just..." she gave him one of her intense looks, "don't go thinking that I don't care, because I do. And if you ever even _think_ about getting this badly hurt again then _I'll _be the one hurting you."

"Ooo..._kinky_." He couldn't help himself sometimes and wasn't surprised to see her reply with the rolling of her eyes.

He watched as she stood up, her delicate pale hands brushing off non-existent dirt off her leotard, and walk out of the room. Her smell still lingered in the room and he inhaled deeply; it smelt nice. It was comforting and familiar and it smelt of that incense she always had burning in her room...and strangely, she smelt of cranberries. He _liked _cranberries.

He lay his head down on the pillow and noted that his own pillows were much fluffier than these ones, and thought for a moment. She was different too, now that he thought about it, and he too didn't really understand _how _she was different...but she was. Yet, instead of being afraid—like Raven claimed she was—he was pleased; her scent had been happier as of late and less 'I'm-bringing-doom-to-your-world-and-don't-hate-me-coz-I'm-emo' and it was tinged with affection, but on that scent he didn't know who it was directed to.

His ears started to itch.

She was pretty, he admitted, though not as mind blowingly gorgeous as Kori, she had a unique prettiness about her; she was haughty yet modest at the same time and the expression just emphasised her prettiness. Her lips were always pursed but in an appealing way and her eyes...God...you could spend a million years staring into her eyes and not think of anything else.

He shook his head, why was he thinking about what she looked like? This was Raven he was thinking about; strange, unconventional and aloof Raven. Yet he couldn't help thinking that he understood her a bit better today and saw past her cold demeanour; he asked the right questions in the wrong situations and she gave him answers that sometimes didn't have anything to do with the question...but they made sense.

Sometimes.

He smiled.

She _cared_ for him; that was a nice notion. He never thought that he'd get _that _confession out of her but he was glad that she did; he felt warm and fuzzy just at the thought of it, just like the feeling you get after beating the high score on Mega Monkeys 4. It was always comforting to know that the person you may possibly like more than a friend cared about you.

Wait a minute...backtrack.

Person you may...what!?

Oh, shit.

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**A/N: Like it? Hope so...I kinda liked this chap anyway...HAHAHA...so yea, review please? Helpful criticism would be great too! Hope to update soon!**


	10. Emotions and vampire bites

**A/N: A little drabble and more of a filler chapter actually, this is the worst chapter so far...I suck at representing the Emotions! **

**Grrrrrrr.**

**So anyway R&R yea? It'll make me happppssssssss, i guarantee!**

**Oh, one more thing...I luveth all of you who have read/favourited/story alerted/author alerted/reviewed my story! I love you all!**

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**Chapter 10**

Raven smiled lazily as she watched Kid Flash whizzing around the Common Room like a total moron; he wasn't exactly new to the Titans but since he was only a Honorary Titan, he didn't get to hang out at Titans Tower much and he was loving every second of it, she could tell. His happiness was quite literally—since she was an empath and all—contagious and the smile had placed itself almost subconsciously on her face, it felt familiar yet alien all at the same time, partly because she has smiled because of other people's happiness but partially because some of the happiness she felt was her own.

It was strange...

She wasn't sure what she was happy about, but she was happy and she was wary of it at first but finally came to conclusions that it wasn't a bad thing to be happy. Kori was _always _happy and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, so being happy wasn't too bad after all.

She was also sleepy, she noted, and the summer sun that was pouring in through the huge window wasn't helping that much either. Summer always meant high energy and activities but it also represented lazy afternoons; she liked both, but right now she preferred the latter. Her eyelids felt heavy and she was at the point of resisting the familiar temptation of sleep but today, yes today, she was going to give herself a break.

The couch _was _really soft, after all.

Raven let her eyelids flutter close and she felt her breathing grow heavy. This was nice, it was just soft and dark and quiet in her head; a dream would be most welcome right now...

...It was dark and gloomy, not the comfortable darkness she experienced when she first fell asleep but the dark that usually associated itself with fear and danger. She looked around and sighed as she saw craters and rock towers all around her, wind blowing through her almost-black hair.

She was in Nevermore.

That was a bit inconvenient.

She gazed at the ragged landscape and sighed. The day that she gave herself a break turned out to also be the day that she would accidentally tap into the rural land of Nevermore. This either meant that she was losing control of her powers or her Emotions needed to talk to her about something urgent; she _really _hoped it was the first one.

"Hi Raven!" She heard a giggle then groaned as she saw a pink cloak.

They needed to talk to her about something urgent.

Hmph.

"Hi Happy." She hesitated.

"Oh, Rae-Rae!" She flung her arms around Raven, "I have not seen you physically in a long time. I am so_ happy _to see you here back in Nevermore! It just fills me with joy!"

"Get to the point Happy, what do you guys want with me?"

Happy just giggled and smiled secretly.

What did they want? Seriously?

Then suddenly all the Emotions appeared out of thin air, each wearing their own different coloured cloaks to indicate what they represented; Happy, Timid, Courage, Kindness, Fear, Wisdom, Laziness and, finally, Rage. All of them were her, as she was them...she just didn't particularly like them that much, that was all.

"We have a newcomer." Wisdom said shortly, "And we're not really sure who she is. She won't tell us...and we were hoping that she'd tell you."

Raven quirked a brow when Rage started to scream, "I HATE HER! TELL HER TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

"Easy, Rage...we won't know if she's a threat until she introduces herself." Courage said stoutly, trying to calm her down, she was the only one who could stand up to Rage, no matter what the situation.

"I DON'T CARE! TELL HER TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF NEVERMORE! SHE DOESN'T BELONG!" Rage's red cloak glowed.

Fear shuddered and held onto Timid, "She scares me...she's new...I don't like new things...she scares me..." She repeated over and over again like some kind of mantra.

Raven looked through the group of Emotion and couldn't find anything or anyone new, "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Timid replied quietly and looked around shyly to see if anyone else was going to answer.

Happy grinned and giggled idiotically, "I don't know either but I like her! She's funny!" She covered her mouth as another giggle erupted from her lips, "She's a pretty colour too...I like pretty colours!"

Laziness yawned, "If I was her, I'd be sleeping in my place but since..." Her voice trailed off as she fell into a deep slumber.

Raven rolled her eyes at the sight of Laziness sleeping but she had to admit, she _was _curious about this new Emotion. Who was she and why did she appear just recently? Something wasn't connecting and she wanted to find out what that something was.

Kindness sensed the swell of curiosity in Raven and patted her gently on the shoulder. The Emotion gave her a sweet smile and her eyes were just so...soft. She wondered if she looked like that sometimes...

"Hi Raven..."

Raven spun around to see a complete replica of herself but her cape was a soft shade of periwinkle blue. She was familiar, this one, yet unfamiliar...where had she _felt _this before? _Had _she ever felt her before? Raven took one more look at the Emotion before feeling her jaw drop involuntarily.

Oh no.

"You."

The Emotion nodded, "Me."

Raven stopped for a moment in hesitation, "I've never met you before, have I? I thought I suppressed you."

She smirked, "I've been getting stronger as of late, as you've probably noticed. Or not. No matter." She said nonchalantly, "You know me and I know you." She took off the hood of that periwinkle cape, "You're scared of me though." She said, referring to Fear.

"Raven, who is she?" Wisdom asked curiously, not knowing did drive her crazy sometimes, "You seem to know her."

Raven nodded grimly; what the hell was _she _doing here?

"You know her? That's great!" Gushed Happy, "You have to introduce us! Doesn't she look pretty?"

"HAPPY CAN YOU SHUT UP!? WHO THE HELL IS THIS PERSON, RAVEN!?" Rage screamed, her voice booming throughout Nevermore.

Raven hesitated and she could see all the expectant eyes on her. She knew this Emotion but it was also new to her, it was an emotion she had always wanted to feel but had never gotten the chance to, she never really expected she would actually meet her though; she had quite literally almost given up.

"She's..."

The Emotion shook her head and then beamed, "I'm Affection, though I'm pretty sure I'm growing." She smiled sweetly at Kindness and Raven noted that their smiles were similar, "I'm the consequence to Kindness but not of the bad sort. You hate me right now, Raven, but you'll soon learn to accept me and even...maybe...let me _grow_." She emphasised that last word as if it were something extremely important.

"What do you mean, let you grow? And why _are_ you here, Affection? Didn't I bury you deep down somewhere? You didn't even appear when I was half in love with Malchior." Raven asked curiously.

Affection gave a melodic giggle, "That's because you never really liked him. You were infatuated by him, you loved the thought of being loved but you didn't experience it. You were infatuated; he was the only person to have ever called you...beautiful." She gave a small twirl as if to show off her cloak, "As for the growing part...you should know what I mean."

Raven growled and placed her fists on her hips, "Fine then, who are you directed at anyway? There is no one I feel..." she thought about what she was about to say in distaste, "affection for."

"I'm sure you don't." Affection waggled her finger and rolled her eyes.

Every Emotion was staring at her intently now, even Rage was calm. They all wanted to know who she liked but...but...she didn't know who Affection was talking about! She didn't!

"No, seriously Affection, who are you talking about? I don't feel anything for anyone!"

"I don't think Affection will tell you..." Wisdom said boldly, "I think you should take Starfire's advice to _open your eyes_."

"My eyes are open!" She exclaimed, "They are so open that I think they'll bleed if I attempt to open them even more!"

She heard a growl and saw Rage glow and enlarge slightly; she had to calm down. Counting to ten, she breathed deeply to try to get the tranquillity back into her mind. If she didn't calm down Rage would grow even larger than Rage was now and she was in no shape to try to grapple with Rage.

Sigh.

"OK...breathe Raven...breathe..." she told herself, "Now I don't know why the hell you're here but I want you to either tell me who you're directed at or I want you out."

Affection waggled her tongue at Raven and sighed, "Raven, you never learn do you? You have to find out for yourself or you'll miss half the fun."

"I don't want fun." She grumbled in reply, "I'm not fun."

Suddenly a voice boomed through Nevermore and Raven jumped, "Raven...wake up..." The voice urged.

She grumbled, Cyborg was trying to wake her up and if he kept it up, he would eventually wake her up...but she didn't want to wake up; not really, anyway. She needed to find out who the hell Affection was talking about; if curiosity killed the cat, this probably had Raven long buried.

"Oh look, "Affection smirked, "Cyborg's calling you, and you know that you're compelled to wake up when someone calls your name three times."

Raven frowned then crossed her arm, what demon made that stupid rule anyway? She wasn't a genie who woke up after three rubs of the lamp and granted three wishes; she could sleep all she wanted to!

"Raven...wake up..."

She gritted her teeth and tried to telepathically tell Cyborg to shut up. Of course it didn't work, though; she was in her own head and couldn't do anything physically.

Nevermore sucked.

"Affection...c'mon...tell me...please?"

Affection just grinned stupidly.

How she hated her right now.

"Raven..."

Dammit.

The Emotions swirled and faded, alongside with Nevermore and now she was just faced with the comfortable darkness that she experienced before entering Nevermore; she was awake. Her vision was blurry for a bit but then it perfected to form an image of a humanoid standing right over her.

"Vic!" She grumbled, "I was having an important tal..." she hesitated, "I was having a good dream. What in the world made you wake me up? You _never _try to wake me up; that's Beast Boy's job."

Cyborg crossed his arms and chuckled, "Well somebody woke up on the wrong side of the couch." He grinned, "BB's room is empty, you should get some rest, you look beat."

"I _was _resting until _somebody _woke me up."

"Well, you need a bed and BB's gonna be gone for a day, at least. You haven't slept in a proper bed for the past two weeks. Your back must be killing you, man."

Her jaw dropped, "Are you telling me to go sleep in his_ bed_?" She regained control of her jaw and looked him square in the eye, "You do realise it's disgusting, right?"

He clicked his tongue, "And you know as well as I do that it can't be _that _disgusting since he has the most goddamned sensitive nose in the world."

He was doing the whole big brother thing, she realised, and when he was in big brother mode he wasn't going to back down no matter what anyone said. When he was in this mode, he'd say _jump _and in reply you'd ask _how high?_

"Look, Raven." He sighed, "There are no crimes today, Dick and Kori are doing God knows what in her room, Kid Flash is having the time of his life rushing around the Tower, I'm trying to get your rooms back and _you _just spent _twenty four hours_ trying to get Garfield better. You need the rest." He said stoutly.

She cocked an eyebrow and saw that he would keep bugging her until she agreed, "Fine." She frowned, "But I'm not getting under the covers; I don't even want to know what he does under there." She mock shuddered.

"Good on ya girl." He grinned then laughed, "Go on then."

She stood up and walked out of the Common Room, feeling his metallic eye on her every moment she walked. Affection's appearance in Nevermore still bothered her a bit; scratch that, more than a bit. Her appearance signalled that she had feelings for someone because affection for someone who was just a friend was generated by the team work of Kindness and Happy—they were good friends—and Affection also mentioned that she wanted to grow.

What the hell did that mean?

Raven stopped and looked around her to see if she was in the right spot before phasing downwards right into Beast Boy's rooms; she wasn't supposed to phase—not without the amount of energy she had currently anyway—but she couldn't resist, she just didn't have the patience to wait for the elevator to come up today and then down again towards Beast Boy and Cyborg's floor.

The room was still in the same condition as it had been from when she meditated in his room but it was admittedly quieter than she was comfortable with but it was warm and cosy; just the right temperature that made her want to fall asleep. The bed was nicely made since Garfield hadn't slept in it for two nights and the sheets were surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, green; she had always thought that Garfield disliked the colour as it reminded him for what he was but she guess—and this was an extremely wild guess—that he had most probably embraced it, like he had embraced the pain of transforming.

She blushed as she remembered their heated conversation yesterday; it was so intense that you could cut the tension with a knife. It was most definitely uncomfortable but it was enlightening as well; she felt him being angry, nervous, happy and full of affection at the same time, the mix of emotion made her empathic powers spasm out of control but it was a nice spasm, if that made any sense at all. Like...like she had a real connection with Garfield, something she had never really achieved before...and...

She slipped under the covers despite what she had told Cyborg; sleeping was never complete without the blankets being right up under your neck. She even put up the blankets that high on hot summer nights, it was from a silly belief she had when she was a kid; she knew that vampires weren't real but just in case they were, she had always covered her neck in the innocent belief that by covering the neck the vampires wouldn't notice you had one, and from then on it had been a habit of hers. It was warm, and she thought that she could feel Garfield's essence in it; she sometimes was able to feel other people's essence in their belongings but it was rare and she only felt it from those who were special to her.

Raven continuously wrapped the blanket tighter and tighter around her petite frame before curling up into a ball; it was so comfortable. Her fingers gripped at the covers tightly and she wiggled her toes; was this what it felt like to share a bed with someone else? Someone you potentially liked more than a friend? Her eyelids closed before she could think on that question but her train of thoughts continued on. She felt her hair kiss her cheeks and she brushed them away from her face with her small hands; what was it like when someone you fancied held you as close and as tightly as she was being held by the blanket. Drowsiness was really taking over now but she needed, wanted, to ask—to no one in particular—about something...something in the back of her mind...something that she had suppressed for some time and would only realise it when she wanted to—and consciously she never wanted to admit it—but...

...what was it like when Garfield hugged her this close?

And all was dark.

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**A/N: OK, I should probably explain to you what happened in these last few paragraphs...so anyway Raven still doesnt (consciously) realise or admit that she likes BB but in the end she's so sleepy that she ends up subconsciously admitting it but she doesnt have time to explore this thought and feeling because she falls asleep. So probably (spoiler???) in the morning she'll end up forgetting all the things she asked herself as she's trying to (consciously and subconsciouly) suppress Affection. **

**Or that's how I interpret it, anyway.**

**Sorry if it's a bit unclear but that's why there are such things are critical reviews right?**


	11. Understand

**A/N: Another short chap but I've got a kinda writer's block so I hope you'll forgive me at how poorly written it is. I'm hoping that the next one is way better than this one. Keep your fingers crossed!**

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**Chapter 11**

"Oh my God." Kid Flash grinned, "That was effin' amazing." He stated; his breath slightly heavy.

The rest of the Teen Titans stared at him, everyone bruised and breathing heavily, slightly battered from the fight they just had with H.I.V.E FIVE. In contrast to their worn out state, Kid Flash was whizzing with excitement, the adrenaline of just beating up a villain coursing through his veins and these actions were replied with _tuts_, shaking heads, sighing and staring in disbelief.

At seeing their faces Kid Flash gave a non-committal sigh and flashed another grin, "What!?" He rushed and all the others felt was a strong gust of wind, "It was _fun_. Plus without my baby, they're a bit easy to beat, aren't they?" He asked rhetorically, referring to Jinx.

Blank eyes stared at him.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged once again, "I'm gonna go visit BB before I start packing. I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow, man! That sucks!"

Starfire suddenly piped up, "Yes, that is sad, friend Kid Flash. We shall be missing you dearly." Her voice was full of sadness, "But you shall visit us with friend Jinx, yes? We shall be doing the night of the girls and the night of the boys soon. Jinx promised to dye my hair the beautiful colour of her own hair." She smiled, looking pleased with herself and not noticing the horror painted on Robin's face when she mentioned dying her hair.

"Don't worry, dude, they'll be other times when I'll beat you at Tekken." Cyborg smirked and patted Kid Flash on the back, "We'll meet each other again and I'll be beating yo' ass like always."

"Don't count on it, bro. I'm coming back with a vengeance." He chuckled at his own statement, "I kinda like this place, thinking bout adding me permanently to your team, boss?" He asked Robin, his tone half serious.

"Maybe later." Robin stated half-heartedly, "Maybe soon."

Raven looked at him meaningfully and knew that he was thinking about the year that Beast Boy would be turning twenty-one; that would be the official year that they would _'retire'_ and leave the Titans Tower for good, whether to do the super hero job solo or to pursue new careers and new lives.

Be completely new people.

It was weird to think about—when she did think about it, which wasn't often as she didn't want to think about it—would they all stay in Jump City? Would they actually get a chance to go out at night, just for fun? Would they get married? To each other or to strangers they have yet to meet? She fiddled with her cape as she tapped into Dick's anxiousness.

Would they keep in contact with each other?

She shuddered.

"Are you cold, friend Raven? You have been doing the shuddering." Kori asked.

Raven shook her head, "No, it's just a random back itch. You know the one..."

Kid Flash nodded, "Yea, annoying bitches those itches are. I can never reach them." He chuckled, "That's why I have Jinxey, she does the best scratches ever. Well..." He cocked his head towards the door of the Common Room, "I'm gonna go now, see you guys later!" With that he whizzed past them with only a gust of wind, causing everyone to seem a bit disgruntled.

"_You OK, Raven?"_

She shrugged mentally as Dick probed into her mind.

"_You don't seem OK. What's on your mind?"_

She shrugged mentally once again but this time she answered, _"Do you remember how scared I was when my dad came back?"_

She felt a nod come from him.

"_This is even scarier."_

Raven paused momentarily and took the time to watch Kori fuss over Cyborg's injury and scolding him over his insistence to watch TV instead of go back to his room to repair himself. In three years, this would cease to exist; it would be all but memories.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean...time's going a bit quick, isn't it?"_

She felt him frown and he looked straight at her, his mask concealing those piercing blue eyes, _"Yes. Yes it is." _He grimaced, _"We have three more years."_

Raven grunted at how matter-of-factly he sounded, _"It seems to be going by so fast. I was fourteen when I first joined the Teen Titans and it's been four years already. We are _family_. How can you break up family? How can you _quit _being family?"_

"_And here I thought you'd appreciate a bit of freedom." _He mentally chuckled, _"Guess I was wrong."_

They both watched as Cyborg finally relented and stomped his way out of the Common Room sulkily as Starfire gleefully took charge of the remote control to watch the latest gossip on E! News. Raven's best friend clapped cheerily as she heard the news of the birth of Jennifer Lopez's twins.

"_Especially from Garfield." _He stated as he watched his girlfriend being engrossed and sucked into the poisonous gossip of Hollywood.

Her eyes widened, _"What?"_

He ignored her question and continued, _"Though to be honest, from the way you two have been interacting I would've thought that you two were actually getting along. You were pretty worried when Garfield got that concussion. If I didn't know you from before I would've thought you liked him or something..."_

"_Dick! How could you think of such a thing?"_

"_You were worried sick. You've never been _that _worried for anyone."_ She felt brotherly affection bloom through their bond, _"I'm not saying that you do. I'm just saying that if you do it's _OK_. No one's going to think badly of you just because you like someone like Garfield." _She smiled at his concern, _"He's not that bad, that Garfield. You just need to find the good in him...the sincere...and if anyone could find it then it would _definitely _be _you_."_

"_I..." _She faltered; she didn't know what to think back.

His emotions were that of amusement and she grumbled at this, _"You don't need to say anything, Raven. We share a bond, remember? I can feel what you feel whenever I tap into your head." _He chuckled absently and gave Kori the softest look she had seen anyone give someone, _"I used to hate the thought of you intruding my thoughts and would try to shut my mind as much as possible, keeping you away...but..."_

She watched as he sighed at the sight of Kori laughing gleefully to herself; he was really in love. It was all there, inside of him and it was just a bubbling mess of happiness, worry, eagerness, need, anger, curiosity...it was just every possible emotion mixed into one puddle of emotion. Even as a secondary recipient it felt...

...wow.

"_I like it now. I understand you better, but Raven, even without the bond, Garfield understands you miles better than I do." _He smiled thoughtfully and Raven wondered if he had been smiling more and more recently because of Kori, _"I mean, me and Kori don't have this bond that you and me have but I think that she understands me a whole lot more than you do, meaning no offence whatsoever." _She touched his shoulder lightly and he knew that she didn't take any, _"I think he feels the same. I can't guarantee it but I think that he feels the same way that you do."_

Raven did a backtrack of what he just said; _"He feels the...what? I don't...I..." _She sighed in frustration as she realised that she was stuttering in her thoughts, _"What I mean is...I have not the slightest idea of what you mean. I don't...feel..._anything_. We have a completely platonic relationship."_

She moaned as he chuckled once more, he was beginning to piss her off and he knew it, _"I'm sure you do. Now let's go join Starfire before she wonders why we're wasting time staring into space."_

She shrugged and walked over to the couch before sitting on it next to Kori. Her friend grinned broadly at her before snuggling her head into Dick's chest. He had started stroking her hair softly and Kori purred every time his hands touched the nape of her neck.

Raven was fascinated at their interaction but was also quite uncomfortable about it; it was too intimate and she shuddered at the thought of _anyone _touching her like that, whether or not she liked them. It was just so...personal.

She touched her own neck subconsciously.

"Friend Raven?" Kori asked, "Would you like us to stop the deed of closeness? You look very uncomfortable, friend." She smiled, "I do not wish for you to go away from us, I have missed spending time with you; we do not seem to do it as often as we did before." She moved away from Dick and grabbed Raven's arms, hugging it tightly, "Recently you seem preoccupied with the activities that of friend Garfield."

Raven smiled and leaned her head on Kori's shoulder, "I miss spending time with you too. It's just that the past couple of days have been a bit hectic what with the whole Brother Blood thing and Garfield getting injured." She thought for a moment, "We should go to the mall tomorrow." She glanced at Dick, "_All _of us. It'll be great since Garfield will be well by then it could be a celebratory trip to the mall. Then when we get there the guys can go off on their own and the girls could go off on their own. So we can do all the shopping you like, Kor." She added to the delight of Kori.

As expected, Kori let go of her arm and instead gave Raven one of the most bone-crushing hugs she had ever experienced. It hurt, in a good way.

"Oh, that will be joyous! I will be buying that new skirt of the mini and we shall get you something beautiful as well!" She giggled, "Then we shall go to the parlour of the nails and paint our nails many different colours and then we can buy shoes! Oh I do love shoes!"

"Dick, what do you think? Can the Titans take the day off, for once?" Raven inquired her team leader.

Dick contemplated this idea for a second before nodding slowly, "I think that would be just. Garfield will have to take it easy anyway for a couple more days and there haven't been any crimes recently." He nodded absently to himself, "We would have to be incognito though."

Both girls nodded seriously in understanding before Kori continued with her monologue of joy. Raven smiled and patted herself mentally on the back; she _did _need some rest—what with her trying to quicken Garfield's healing process—and the others also needed to rest, plus this gave her and Kori to spend some time together. She didn't particularly like the thought of shopping, though, especially with Kori. Kori was viciously brutal when it came to shopping and compelled you to try and buy everything that she thought looked good resulting in a pair of black stilettos, pink mini skirt, green hoodie, fluffy purple dress and many more clothing items to be stashed away in the back of Raven's wardrobe.

They certainly were not a sight for sore eyes, they _created _the sore eyes.

"Friend Raven, you do not mind that later when we venture to the mall of shopping, that we do the act of gossiping? I would like to discuss a couple of kissing and the making of the out techniques." Kori said quite boldly, "It has become quite boring and I shall need some advice."

Raven smirked as she saw Dick turn red in embarrassment. She knew that he wanted to say something but he couldn't. Starfire, typically, seemed quite oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend was turning into the same shade as his uniform. She was still talking about how Robin had kissed her and every time she threw in another comment on his techniques; his face grew redder and redder until Raven decided that he would be a great replacement for the tomato.

"I never knew, Kor." Raven replied when her friend finally stopped talking, "You should tell me more tomorrow. In _detail._" She flashed Dick a mental grin.

Her grin grew wider as he grew redder still until he decided to stomp away from the couch and out of the Common Room.

Starfire looked a bit confused and shook her head, flaming shades of red warming her cheeks, "Where did boyfriend Dick go? Was it something that I said?"

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**A/N: You know the deal, reviews please! **


	12. Changing Rooms

**A/N: A bit of drabble...a bit more fun in the next chappie!**

**--------------**

**Chapter 12**

Raven sighed as Garfield and Vic argued on who was to drive the T-car to the mall; Vic, per usual, was winning. They were all supposed to leave an hour ago since it would be easier to avoid traffic that way but _no_, obviously _something _like this was bound to happen. The rest of them—Robin, Starfire and Raven—all stood helplessly watching their two team mates squabble to the death. She tugged on her grey jumper and sighed; it was bloody hot but she didn't care, she always wore a jumper when they were in disguise, always. Yet apart from the change into normal clothes, she didn't wear any disguises; the citizens of Jump City never saw her face anyway, it was always covered up by the hood she wore when they fought crime.

She shook her head, "Can you guys please shut up already? We were supposed to leave an _hour _ago."

They turned to look at her and she couldn't help but gasp inwardly every time she saw their faces because they both wore holographic rings designed to give out an illusion of what they would've looked like without their..._abnormalities_; Victor was no longer a metallic man but he had features and planes all over his face that was unfamiliar to Raven because they looked so...normal. Normal and plain. He had the darkest skin imaginable and the darkest eyes—he had two of them!—but strangely, she could still tell it was him; he had the same warm smile that made everyone feel welcome and those eyes that took one good look at you and knew if there was something wrong or not.

It was Garfield that was startlingly different, this was the first time she had seen him in his _original _form; his skin was peachy but with a hint of a tan and freckles scattered all over his face and arms, his hair was still in its shaggy, messed up exterior but it was blond—blond!—and it wasn't just any blonde, it was a rich sand-gold blonde that reflected the light every time the sun rays hit it and his eyes were blue, not the piercing blue that Dick had, but they were a watery, almost inky blue colour. Raven didn't know why but she couldn't help thinking that he looked better green, though she had to admit to herself that the freckles were _very _cute.

"But baby doll!" Garfield protested while Raven squirmed at that nickname, "I can drive now! I have a license! Why won't Vic let me drive?" He whined.

"It's coz you can't even drive your own stinkin' moped, you lil' green stain! You crashed it just last week!" Vic roared, his teeth bared and his hand over the hood of the T-car protectively, "Dick, tell him that he can't drive! I don't even let _you _drive, for hell's sake!"

"Friends! We must not fight! Today is the celebratory day of the healing of friend Garfield's skull." Kori grabbed at her boyfriend's arm, "Boyfriend Dick, please settle this argument between them. It is not just that our day should be ruined by a measly argument." Kori tugged at her brown wig in irritation and demonstrated the puppy dog look with her newly done hazel eyes; they weren't really her eye colour of course but Dick said that it was for safety precautions; Kori seemed oblivious to the fact that some men had posters of her in her measly uniform in their bedrooms.

"Dude!" Garfield whinged.

Dick shook his head, "You know what. Garfield do us all a favour; shut up and get in the car." He snapped, "Vic's driving."

Raven smirked as Garfield's jaw dropped at how Dick snapped at him, "Dick you are such a dick sometimes, ya know?" He grumbled and went in the car, his arms crossed like a sulking child.

Finally with all the fuss done everyone got in the car; Vic at the driver's seat, Dick next to him up front and Kori, Raven and Garfield stuff in the back. She wiggled about a bit in the middle seat and froze when she felt that Garfield's shoulders were so close to hers, they were touching, albeit lightly. Her face warmed up and she shook her head to try to avoid the inevitable flush of colour she knew was going to come up. She was too distracted to probe for how he was feeling, or to even see if he noticed that she had suddenly turned very, very still.

He did, "You OK?"

"Yea, why wouldn't I be?" She replied with false confidence.

"I dunno." He looked at her with his inky-blue eyes, his shoulders shrugging, "You smell nervous, that's all. And scared." He added as an afterthought.

She glared at him, "I don't think it's any of your business to notice how I smell, thank you very much."

He put his hands up as if backing away from her, "OK, OK. Geez...why is everyone so frickin' sensitive today?"

She didn't reply and just looked forward. She was going to ignore whatever niggling feeling was in her mind right now.

She was _going _to.

He _couldn't _be the person Affection was talking about.

He just _couldn't _be.

She _harrumphed _then went back to sitting quietly while the Vic drove their car to their destination.

"Look, friend Raven!" Kori squealed suddenly, pointing at a building, "The mall of shopping! I am ever so excited!" She giggled.

Starfire was right, the mall was visible now. It was _huge_! She had a niggling feeling that she would come to regret the day. She had a feeling that by the end of the day her feet would ache, her arms would ache; her whole body would ache just because of her choice to go shopping with Kori. She closed her eyes for a second and felt the car park smoothly in Vic's hands; she really didn't like driving and preferred to walk but the mall was on the other side of town so she either had to fly there or she had to walk quite a long way away to get there.

"So..." Dick said calmly, "Here we are."

"Booyah! Food court here I come!" Vic grinned broadly.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Great..."

They walked into the mall and a gust of air conditioning breezed through them sending each of them shivers down their spine. The mall was bustling with a lot of people, it was like a battery farm for humans, and most of them were teenagers, people around the same age as they were. Raven just hoped that no one was smart enough to put two and two together to make out that they were the famous Teen Titans.

Raven felt Kori grab at her arm, "Rachel!" She called out in the name the Titans had chosen for her, "Let us go! We have much of the shopping to do and not enough of the time." She let go of Raven's arms for a second and kissed Dick on the cheek, "Dick, we shall be going now. We will see you all at about two in the afternoon?"

"Y-y-yes." Dick reddened and rubbed his cheek; both Garfield and Vic elbowing and nudging him, "Yes, we'll see you then." He stated firmly as he regained his dignity.

"Cute." Raven rolled her eyes but then let out a giggle, "The leader blushes."

"Oh shut up, _Rachel_." He replied scathingly, "Don't you have some shopping to do?"

She glared at him but not before Kori took her away with her super strength. Sometimes super heroes misused their powers; Raven suspected that this was one of them.

Kori giggled, "Come on, dear friend Rachel, we must be doing the shopping. The clothes in the shops are calling us! Can you hear them? They are calling us!"

Kori closed her eyes with Raven attached to her and walked around blindly until she stopped in front of a random shop. She opened her eyes and literally pushed Raven in before rushing around and rummaging through various amounts of colourful clothing, mostly consisting with short, small things that didn't cover anything at all.

Well, it covered, but not much.

"Rachel!"

Raven turned around from the clothing rack she was mindlessly looking through, "Yes, Kor?"

Her best friend held out a _hideous _pink leopard print mini skirt with ragged hems and smiled giddily at the prospect of buying it. Raven shielded her eyes but forced a grin.

"What do you think, friend Rachel? It is most beautiful, is it not?"

Raven tried to prevent herself from gagging and gave her best smile, "Its...lovely."

Starfire frowned and placed a fist on her hips, "You are doing the lying. You should try to do the false smile a bit better next time we do the shopping." She giggled, "But this just means that we will be doing more of the rummaging through!"

Raven groaned and sighed heavily as she felt Kori tug at her towards another store; this time it looked slightly classier than the previous store did. It was less colourful, well no, that was a lie. It was still colourful but the colours were a bit more muted and they were used beautifully in a way that made Raven actually want to wear colours instead of the usual dull, solemn colours she never hesitated to wear. She watched as Kori danced her way through the racks; picking out random bits of clothing from each hanger and placing them in her already overflowing basket. Raven herself looked through the clothes on display aimlessly, not thinking about the clothes, really.

"Rachel!"

"Yes?"

"Pick out some clothes; we will have to try them on to see if they are suitable for purchase!"

Raven's heart melted at the sight of her friend being so ecstatic because of them hanging out together that she felt slightly guilty that she was feeling so...unexcited at all these clothes. To make up for it, she picked out the darkest and most solemn looking clothes and stuffed them in her basket before following Kori into the changing rooms and then entering the cubicle next to hers.

"Raven?"

Raven pulled her own oversized grey jumper over her head and replaced it with an intricately embroidered navy blue one before admiring herself in the mirror. It hung off her petite body unflatteringly and she looked like she had drowned in blue woollen fabric.

Sigh.

"Yes, Kor?"

"Have you done the kissing before?"

She blushed at the question and bit her lip at the sight of her reflection in the mirror; why was she best friends with the most gorgeous being on the planet?

"I..." Raven frowned and took off the blue jumper, "It was a rash decision years ago. I haven't kissed since."

"Oh?" Kori popped her head through the curtains, indifferent to the fact that Raven was only in her bra and jeans, "To whom, may I ask? You have never previously told me about this kissing act." She sounded slightly hurt.

"To...Mal-" She paused as Kori popped back into her own cubicle, "Him. You know the one."

Raven could literally see Kori's eyes pop out in her mind's eye, "Truly? Was it not vile?"

"We kissed...once only. It wasn't very nice, to put it politely."

"Oh." Raven heard her draw breath before she heard soft fabric touch her skin, "It is just that Dick can be so...oh...I do not know...tedious when it comes to the act." She sighed, "Even when we are now doing the Earth mating ritual I find it sometimes to be ever so dull. Rachel I do not know what to do."

Raven blushed fiercely as she unwillingly imagined her two best friends having sex, it wasn't hard to imagine it since she had seen them but it wasn't easy to forget. Something like that was _never _easy to forget.

"Well...why are you asking me, Kor? I don't..." she tried to find a word for it, "_understand _these things. I'm me; sarcastic, introverted and alone."

"You are not alone, friend. I am here with you. We are all here with you. You are the complete juxtaposition to being alone. I would think that you are not alone at all."

"Thanks...I guess." She heaved a sigh and tried on another jumper, this time it was mustard yellow with green trimmings at the hem, "Well, you could tell Dick that he's getting...boring. Or you could teach him a few new things. Like I don't know...what are you bored of, exactly?"

Raven twirled once and looked at the reflection in the mirror, it wasn't _too _bad, but it still made her look like a boy in an over sized blanket; she had curves, she did! Suddenly she paused to think about her thoughts and shook her head; since when did she care about how she looked? If she looked like a boy or if she had curves at all? It wasn't because of...right? She shuddered subconsciously and shook her head. No, it wasn't because of that.

Hopefully.

No...Not hopefully..._definitely_.

"Truly, Rachel, I do not know." The voice was close, closer than it was, "I just have a feeling that we are doing the same thing over and over again."

She turned around and almost swore as she saw Kori half naked in her cubicle holding up a red dress.

What the fucking Azar!?

"Kor...What the Azar? Why the hell are you in my cubicle...and only in your underwear?"

Kori cocked her head, "What? Is there something wrong? Is it inappropriate on Earth for fellow females to see others in states of undress? I do believe we have the same anatomy, so there is not much to be shamed over."

Raven shook her head and slapped it, "Kor...It's just a bit...weird...you know?" She sighed at the naive expression portrayed on her friend's face, "Never mind. So, why are you here anyway?"

"This." She shoved the red dress she was holding towards Raven, "You must try it on, it is just not my colour and I did not pick out the right size for my body. It is far too small."

Raven took it in her hands, "No...Kor...I don't wear..._dresses_. Especially not _red _dresses." She held it out and saw that it was a cocktail dress that was an almost replica of the famed Marilyn Monroe dress; it was complete with the halter neck and the fifties skirt but it was a gorgeous shade of scarlet. Gorgeous on someone else, of course, not on her. "Plus it is too showy. Look at the neckline, do you really think I have the boobs to fit into this? And when would I ever wear this? Kori, I can't try this on." She gave it back to Starfire.

"Friend Rachel, have faith. This dress is beautiful and so are you. Naturally if two beautiful things come together they create something even more beautiful. In addition to that I think that the red will do something for your particularly pale pallor." Starfire handed it back stubbornly, "Plus, how are you to fall in love if you cannot love yourself? I believe that this dress will teach you just that."

"Fine," She grumbled in reply and unzipped it, "So what were you saying?"

"He kisses like a gecko sometimes...he sucks and sucks and he does not let me breathe. Sometimes he sucks on my skin and it leaves horrible bruise like marks. I do not know of your earthly traditions but I believe that Dick may be marking me as his property, yes?"

"Er..." She clawed for words but could not really find any, "No, I don't think so." She sighed and slipped neckline over her head, "Sometimes…I have read…boys get too carried away and they forget that girls have feelings too. It's not that they don't care, it's just that when you guys are making out, Dick might be feeling something completely different too you…or the same…but at a different level." Her hand slipped backwards before Kori understood and zipped the zip close for her, "I don't even know why _I'm _giving _you _advice. I mean you have guys practically crawling all over you and I've never even had a boyfriend." She then went on, "Malchior doesn't count. He flattered me but did nothing else. We kissed but that was all; just one kiss. OK…maybe two." Raven added as an afterthought.

Kori looked at her thoughtfully and patted her on shoulder before pointing at the mirror.

"But that's not the point. All I'm saying is that you and Dick should talk about it, there's no point talking to me about it…I'm not the one kissing you. He _loves _you, Kori, I know it…I can _feel _it. It's wonderful to feel, even if it's not for me. Now…" Kori continued to poke her on the shoulder and point at the mirror, "What is it?"

"Look!"

"What?" She looked back at Kori.

"Look…Oh…Raven…look!"

Raven grumbled in annoyance then looked at the mirror at her reflection and it was…wow. _Wow _isn't a word that Raven used a lot and for once she knew that whenever she looked in the mirror she would say it over and over again. It wasn't that she was beautiful, no, far from it. She looked at herself closely and traced her fingers on the detailed neckline; the dress fit her perfectly, as if it was made for her. It wasn't overtly sexual as she thought it was going to be but it was chic; the neckline that seemed to demand breasts just enhanced what little cleavage she had, the band at the waist emphasised and created even more curves, the 50's skirt somehow made her look taller and the colour, the colour that seemed to be so brass before now seemed to accentuate what colour she had. The colour seemed to offset her violet eyes and her hair seemed a lot darker than it was before and she felt a little—dare she say it?—va-va-voom with the dress on. On impulse she gave a flirtatious twirl.

"Oh, dear friend, you are _beautiful_." Kori cooed at her and clasped her hands on Raven's shoulders, "It is perfect."

"Yes…it is…" She whispered, half to herself, half to Kori.

"I command you to purchase it. It is just too wonderful to leave in the store when it looks so flawless on you."

Raven took one regretful look in the mirror before groaning, "I can't…what would I use it for? Where would I wear it? _Why _would I wear it? It is not something that Raven would wear."

"You _must_ buy it! I insist that you, dear friend, should buy it." She ruffled Raven's growing hair; it was just a bit beyond shoulder length now, "Do you know where and when I think you should wear it, friend? I think you should wear it on date with the person you are truly in love with."

Raven turned to look at her friend and cocked a brow, "But—"

Her friend shrugged and giggled, "And do you know what I truly think, dear friend? Do you know why I truly think that you will wear it when you get this dress?"

Raven shook her head in reply and stayed quiet.

"Well, friend," Kori paused as a playful smile splashed itself on her lips, "I think that you should wear it when you fall in love."

"Why?" She cocked her head in confusion, "Why should I wear it when I fall in love? _If _I ever fall in love."

"You will, I have trust in the fates that you will fall in love, and soon, I daresay." Kori giggled and once again reminded Raven that she was the prettier between the two by far, "It is not just if you do not fall in love and I am in a state of constant euphoria whenever I am near boyfriend Dick. I believe that when you fall in love and the boy you fall in love with is unintelligent to realise that he has feelings for you too, you shall wear this dress and he will realise like _that_." She snapped her fingers, "It is a bit like the princess Ella of the Cinders."

"Kori." Raven said seriously, "That only happens in stories."

She smiled at Raven as if she was naïve and didn't know any better, but her eyes spoke so much that Raven didn't get mad that Kori was looking at her like that, "But, dear friend, what is life but one gigantic tale? The only difference is that _we _are the ones who write the stories, not a story-teller. We are who we want to be, and if we want to be in love then we will. Even if we do not want to be in love, we might already be in it…deeply in it…but we will only realise it when we accept the fact. Remember that, dear friend, and remember," She smiled, "the dress does not make you beautiful. _You _do. And I do hope that whoever you fall in love with realises this same fact."

Raven smiled and admired herself once more in the mirror. She _did _want this dress, quite badly in fact and Kori's monologue just made her want it even more. It was beautiful and even if she never wore it she would always be able to admire it at the back of her wardrobe. She took the hem of the dress to grab at the price tag and she almost hissed at the sight of the numbers.

"Wow. That is one hefty price tag." Raven finally said after a lot of inhaling and exhaling.

Kori giggled, "But that is why I took Dick's credit card when he wasn't looking."

"You know Kori," Raven giggled in unison with Starfire, "people don't give you enough credit. You are one smart cookie."

Kori gasped a pretty little gasp, "You describe me as a sweet confection usually eaten with the drink of tea and the milk of the cow?"

"Yes." Raven laughed even harder, she could feel tears prick at the corner of her eyes, "Yes, I guess I just did. And a smart one too."

--------------------

**A/N: Yes I stole a tid bit from Sisterhood of Travelling Pants...can't be too bad, right? Anyway...hope you liked it and I know it was a bit of a pointless chappie but I needed a filler since I haven't updated in a long time...which BTW I'm really sorry about...loadsa art hw...sucks! Anyways comment, yes? CIAOOO!**


	13. Food

**A/N: Helloooo...long time no see...this is the second part to the mighty trip to the mall of shopping and I hope you like it, it was just a bit of fun. Oh, if the guy's views on the girls seem pretty shallow PLEASE remember that they've been cooped up in the Tower for quite a while and haven't seen real live girls in quite a while. And I know sometimes I moan about the chapters being a bunch of crap but I've now realised it's pretty relative, so hopefully what I see as crap, you see as a fricking piece of fanfiction genius.**

**LUBB YOO ALL!**

**Chapter 13**

"Well, the girls should be here soon." Dick looked around food court with satisfaction, "I don't understand the attraction of the mall; it's stuffy and overcrowded." He scowled as he saw the crowd of people walking around the food court trying to find seats.

Garfield grinned and nudged at his leader's ribs, "But you gotta admit, Dick, there are a lot hot girls here. Right, Vic?" He winked at his best friend.

Vic was staring at something and Garfield followed his gaze to find him looking at a girl wearing nothing but an _extremely _see-through tank top and a _really _short skirt that _really _didn't cover anything. She was gorgeous as well; dirty blonde hair and pretty honey-green eyes summed it up.

"Boo-yah!" Vic roared in delight as she bent over to pick up a paper napkin she had accidentally dropped, "God…I love this country." He high-fived with Garfield and the two started whistling at hot girls that went by.

Garfield saw Dick redden in embarrassment at their actions and laughed, "Chill, Dick, we're not doing anything _bad_."

"But it's disrespectful to all the girls here! You can't just stare at them with your tongues lolling out like dogs and whistling when they go past! You have to show them respect!"

Vic chuckled, "Dick, no matter how _noble_," he made speech marks in the air while his eyes distractedly followed a black-haired girl as she walked by, "you are, you would be _lying _if you told us that you _wouldn't _do any of the girls here." He challenged their leader and flashed a grin at Beast Boy.

Garfield sniggered as he saw his boss struggle with being respectful towards the female gender and his leering eyes that sometimes strayed on the closest red-headed girl that was nearby. Garfield knew that Robin wasn't _really _thinking about those other random flame-haired girls but he was thinking about a certain person that reminded him of her. In his opinion, Kori was the best thing that ever happened to Dick; whenever she was around, he was less strict to everyone else and he actually tried to have fun instead of working all the time. She was a part of him, he knew that, and sometimes Garfield felt jealous of that; he wanted to be a part of someone too.

"Do you have a fetish for red-heads or something?" Garfield joked and poked fun at Dick's gaze going from red-head to red-head, "Or is it just the fact that every red-head we've seen has a great rack." He winked at Dick's glare, "You know I'm kidding, dude. The only girl you ever go _ga-ga _around is Kori, and I get why; she's hot." He said in a matter-of-factly tone.

Dick's eyes lit up furiously and he made to strike Garfield but Vic blocked the way, "Dick, not cool. You know what Garfield's like; he makes stupid comments all the time. I'll be surprised if he owned a brain."

"Dude! I _so _have a brain!" Garfield protested, "What else would be in this skull of mine?"

"Tofu?" Vic suggested innocently.

"Not cool."

Dick chuckled at that and Garfield saw it melt into a smile as a certain brunette came skipping down towards him with a million bags clutched in her hands. His smile broadened as she thrust herself into that embrace of his and she giggled continuously until he finally released her from the hug. Yet when you looked at their hug closely, Garfield could see that Starfire had slipped a thin card into the back pocket of his jeans and the exchange of looks between her and Raven; it wasn't that much of a surprise that Dick didn't miss this one card, he had more in where that came from and he preferred to deal in cash.

"Oh, dear boyfriend Dick, friend Rachel and I had _so _much fun today. During this trip to the mall of shopping friend Rachel _actually _bought clothes! And she looks ever so beautiful in them, you must see!" She sighed and took his hand into hers, "Oh, we must go and do the shopping more often, boyfriend Dick, it is most glorious!" She giggled.

Garfield chuckled at the mention of Raven's pseudonym, it was everything that Raven was not; it was a perky name, fit for a cheerleader, maybe someone like Starfire but not Raven. The name was too shallow and too _normal _for someone like her, she would've suited something a bit more eccentric like…Nymeria, for example.

He squeezed the apple he had wrapped in a plastic bag subconsciously.

He was curious though and wanted to see what she had bought. Raven _never _bought clothes, not since she stopped growing five years ago anyway. She always wore that same stupid jumper and a pair of shapeless jeans when they went out. From what he saw of the shopping bag, the clothes seemed pretty expensive, as well, and it was _really _not like her to buy clothes from expensive stores and now he _really _did want to see what she bought. She wasn't classically pretty but he thought that whatever was in that bag must've made her feel beautiful or not she wouldn't have bought it.

"Hey, Gar." Vic winked at him with his dark, almost black, eyes, "You ready?"

Garfield squeezed the apple harder until he heard it turn into a pile of mushy pulp inside of the plastic bag; this was going to be fun.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Don't back out now! C'mon, we've gone over this, we've been planning it for weeks!"

Garfield could sense that Dick was suddenly _very _alert, "Ready for what? What are you guys ready for? It's not anything idiotic, is it?"

"Don't worry, Dick, no one's gonna get hurt." Vic said nonchalantly.

"Yea," Garfield grinned, "Just a bit of harmless fun."

"But your idea of harmless fun is slamming a _stank-ball _full force into _someone's _face." Raven replied through gritted teeth, "And that certain _someone _had to go to the infirmary just to get her breathing back to normal."

"Hey, no fair!" Garfield whined, "I told you I was sorry!"

"Oh?" She feigned innocence; he _hated _it when she did that, "Was I talking about myself?" She cocked her head and flashed him a wicked smirk.

"OK, look, no one is going to get hurt…" He took the apple out of its casing and squelched it in his naked palm and he raised his left arm as if to command a move, "FOOD FIGHT!"

He threw the apple at some unsuspecting teen and before he knew it, food was soaring through the air in perfect curves at other random people. He rolled on the ground and over to a nearby overturned table and grabbed a piece of…_something_…before throwing it at a short kid with brown hair.

"BOO-YAH!" Garfield heard his best friend holler from a distance.

Vic and him had been planning this for two weeks, it was risky, they knew, but they couldn't miss up an opportunity like this, not when they've either been cooped up in the Titans Tower for so long that they forgot what the outside world looked like or they had been fighting so much crime that the word 'fun' was practically foreign to them. And so what if this inevitably got them kicked out of the mall? Fun was never really fun without some risks.

He looked around him and found that even Kori had joined in, her laugh ringing around the room like chiming bells and she was throwing things at a lot of people with Dick trying to protect her from the things being thrown back at her.

Garfield picked up a piece of pizza and threw it at Dick's face before ducking.

He had to admit, it was messier than he thought it would be; you couldn't even really see the floor any more, every inch of the food court floor was covered in some form of edible substances. His shoes squelched as he stepped into some pudding and he knew that with all the food that was covering him, he must smell horrible in addition to the fact that he hadn't showered for the past couple of days.

Someone hit him full force in the face with ice cream and he licked his lips in satisfaction before throwing a bowl of porridge at his opponents face. The guy fell backwards as it hit his face and grunted before Garfield decided to laugh at the sheer hilarity of the situation. Another person—a girl this time—giggled and blew him a kiss before throwing a piece of bread at his stomach and he stumbled over backwards as the hard bread hit him painfully in the stomach.

OK, maybe next time him and Cyborg decided to do a food fight, they would _so_ wear protective gear.

Garfield suddenly realised that Raven was missing; where did she go? He tugged at his shirt subconsciously before crawling so that all the food and drink flying in the air would just go right over him. He crawled clumsily around the place before he paused to look at the situation around him then he went straight back to finding Raven. He was worried, it wasn't like Raven to wander off alone when they hung out together, but then again it wasn't like Raven to stay so quiet during a situation like this; she always tried to stop these things and berate him at how idiotic his actions were.

"Raven?" He whispered harshly, "Raven!"

He cocked his head to the side and found a table turned sideways and a sleeve of a particular grey, woollen sleeve poking out from behind it; the chance of it being Raven was highly unlikely but he was going to go look anyway.

"Raven? Rachel?" He tried calling out to her in her alias.

His knees were starting to hurt from all the crawling but he scrambled towards the table anyway and there she was; huddled up behind the overturned table and talking to herself but she was there. She looked up at him and groaned.

"Raven? You OK?"

Raven looked down and didn't reply him and instead kept chanting her magical words over and over again as if it was a prayer.

A pie flew at his foot, "Rae? Baby doll? You OK?"

She looked up and he inhaled quickly as those indigo eyes pierced through him sharply, "I'm not OK." She clung to her knees and for a moment there Garfield couldn't help but think that she looked like a fragile child, a piece of porcelain that needed to be protected, "I can't…_concentrate_." She stated through gritted teeth, "All the noise, the flying food and the mess and just the chaos are making Fear and Rage go haywire." She closed her eyes for half a second as if she could feel her two emotions, "Courage and Wisdom are trying to calm them down but they're no good when it comes to dealing with those two. So," she said in a matter-of-factly tone, "I'm trying to meditate so that my powers don't get out of control and harm someone."

She wasn't kidding; he could practically smell the confusion in her so much that the hairs on his neck stood up at how overwhelming it was. He scuttled closer to her and sighed.

"It's just a food fight, baby doll, no one's going to get hurt in a _food fight_."

"I know." She shook her head, "And Courage and Wisdom know…but Rage and Fear just aren't listening. I'm…" She struggled to find the words, "_angry _because of the fact that people are throwing things at me and at you because of the fact that you started this idiotic affair but I'm…_scared_…because…I know it's stupid and all…but…" she hesitated, "I'm scared because I keep thinking that they're throwing food at me because they _hate _me but that's stupid because they don't even know that I'm, well, me."

Instinctively he reached for her pale hand them up with his own currently peachy ones, "No one hates you, Rae, trust me. Everyone loves you; you _do _save Jump City constantly, after all." He sniffed and thought—though he might have been mistaken—that she smelled less nervous and confused, "And you are _not _going to lose control of your powers just because of Rage and Fear; you are not your emotions, you may experience them but you are not them."

She looked up at him in surprise and her scent quickly changed to that of curiosity.

"So, cheer up baby doll, even someone like _you _can have a bit of fun; even if it _does _involve getting a bowl of spaghetti thrown at that pretty face of yours." He grinned cheekily and his heart leapt at the sight of heat rising to her cheeks, "Plus, I'm here to protect you. No one _ever _gets past me, _never_. So you can throw all you like without getting dirty…though to be completely honest…I can't guarantee that those snot faced five-year-olds," He said referring to a bunch of kids at the corner of the food court who threw everything and anything at everyone around them, "won't get past me. They_ are_ kinda titch."

She wiped her face subconsciously and her lips twitched as if she was attempting a smile. He had to laugh at that; it was kinda cute.

"OK," He laughed as she grimaced in realisation that he thought that her attempts to smile was quite, honestly, hilarious, "I'm just gonna go over there," he pointed at a table full of untouched food, "to get us some supplies. We don't wanna be empty handed after all." He smiled and saluted her in an army-esque way, "A good offence is a great defence, that's what they all say. Good luck comrade Roth."

A giggle slipped through her lips before she could help herself and he grinned, "Good luck to you too comrade Logan and be careful. There are many out there who would do anything to thwart our plans." He almost laughed when she tried to put on a serious army-guy voice; it was too good, Raven was actually trying to lighten up.

"OK, then. Logan out."

And as for the next thing that happened, he really didn't have an explanation for it. All he remembered was that he was still holding her hand and she looked so _mischievous_ with that smile on her face—it was different and not the one he was used to seeing, it was light-hearted instead of the usual deep and meaningful smile she showed, when she did smile, that is—and before he knew it, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. It was nothing, really, but it felt like _something _and clearly by the way Raven smelt, it felt like something to her too. He felt her let go of his hands and they both stood there staring at each other for a few seconds.

"Er…I…er…I'll be going now…" Garfield stuttered and rushed towards his destination, "Just…er…stay…OK…I'll go now."

He looked back and saw that she was still standing there, her delicate fingers absently touching the cheek where he had kissed her. He ducked unintentionally and watched as some fried flew over his head. It was nothing, right? He kissed girls _all _the time and kissing Raven on the _cheek _shouldn't feel any different…but it did. It just felt ever so forbidden, but it was sweet, so sweet.

Suddenly he felt his wrists being brought forcefully behind his back and his first instinct thought that they were a bunch of bad guys and he tried to wriggle himself free aggressively but then he saw Vic being held against his will too and realised that they were security guards of the mall and that they were being caught because of their behaviour in the mall.

"We got caught man." Vic moaned.

Garfield's security guy grumbled, "Yes, you did and you're banned from the mall for the next three months. If we see your faces in here again in that time we _will _ban you permanently."

"Aw, man. Gar this is totally your fault." His best friend groaned again and slapped his own head.

Garfield gulped, "Well, at least Kori wasn't banned…she'd kill me if she was."

"Are you talking about the one with long brown hair, son? Because if you are. She's banned too." The security guard holding Vic said.

"She is?"

He looked around and saw Kori being held by another security guard and she was dishevelled right to the bone and she was still holding a piece of mash potato, as well. She was smiling though, she probably didn't realise that she was gonna be banned for a long time. Then he saw her security guard say something to her and in an instant her head snapped towards him and she glared angrily.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

Garfield, can't you do anything right?

**A/N: OK, it was only a kiss on the cheek but for someone like Raven that must be pretty huge right? Right?? And yea I know we all wanted a huge reaction from Dick about his credit card but I didnt really want that to be the focus and also I wanted to show you guys that he's rich so he's less likely to be UBER careful with money, I mean not that he isn't. **

**Oh, BTW my dear readers I just wanted to ask...should I continue with the Brother Blood storyline? Because to be completely honest I have no idea what else to write about it...any ideas? Message me if you do have some and if you have good ones I'll definitely add it in and credit you.**

**So guys, please review so I know what I did well, what I didn't and hjow I can improve. Seriously, your reviews make my day!**


	14. Pixie sticks and envelops

**A/N: New chappie...longest one I've made so far...hopefully it won't disappoint!**

**Chapter 14**

"Whoa…easy there Kori, if Dick finds out how much you've been eating those things he will actually kick my ass." Garfield's eyes widened as he saw how large Starfire's mouth became when she was presented with a hundred jumbo-sized pixie sticks in a variety of colours, "Seriously if you eat any faster and any more your tongue will bleed. Trust me, I've tried."

She paused and gave him a quick glare, "You will _not _be telling me what to do, friend Garfield. It _is _your fault that I am forbidden to enter the glorious mall of shopping. You and your silly fight of the foods." She grumbled and for a second her eyes glowed the neon green it glowed when she was _really _mad, "I will be consuming as many sticks of the colourful sugar as I will be wanting to and you will not stop me. You have informed me that you will be of my service for a whole week and that you will do _anything _I command."

"Well…couldn't you just get Vic to make you a holographic ring? He started it too!" He whined.

She glowered at him furiously and ate one whole packet of pixie sticks without removing it from the plastic casing. He really couldn't believe that she was _that _upset about being banned from the mall; it was, after all, just a building filled with clothes and food. He sat on the edge of his seat and leaned on the dining table and watched as she licked bits of pixie dust from her lips; it would've been so much funnier if she wasn't mad at him.

"No. I cannot do such a thing; it is expensive and time consuming to make the ring that produces a holographic image of oneself. He is busy doing the repair of the rooms of boyfriend Dick and friend Raven and if he makes one for me he will not have the time to do the repair, as you humans say, ASAP."

He sighed and placed his head on the table; the food fight had a lot of consequences and they weren't good consequences either. Dick had increased the amount of time he had to train every day because of what he had done, he was banned from the mall, he was under Kori's every wish and him for a whole week and indirectly he had upset Raven. It was the kiss, he knew it, and because of it she had avoided him for the past couple of days; her head was always down whenever she spotted him, she no longer ate any meals with him and communication was limited to that of 'Yes' and 'No' or sometimes she only relied on non-verbal communication. He already admitted to himself that he liked her—at least as more than a friend—and now that he did, he didn't really know what to do about the situation; if he went to confront her he might seem too eager and aggressive but if he avoided her then nothing would happen and when worst came to worse they would probably, inevitably, drift apart even further than they already were.

"Friend Garfield?" Kori's voice seemed to have softened as she continued to devour the pixie sticks, "Are you OK? You do not look too well. Though you will not be getting any sticks of coloured sugar to bring you joy if you ask it…they are all _mine_." Her eyes glittered almost psychotically due to the mass amounts of pixie sticks she was consuming, or at least he thought it was because of the sugar.

Garfield looked up and saw she had a smile on her face, "I'm just coping with a lot since the food fight." He saw her face harden at the mention of that event, "Can I…can I ask for your advice?"

He knew that she couldn't resist helping out a friend in need and this action would kill two birds with one stone; he'd distract her away from her anger towards him _and _she'd help him with his situation.

She considered it for a moment, "Yes, yes I believe you may. Be warned though, this act of kindness will not last very long considering how enraged I am with you." Her voice was strangely calm, he noted, for someone who was so mad at him…did that mean she wasn't as mad as he thought she was?

"I…I _think _I like this girl." He started then paused momentarily, "But I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me back…I mean…she doesn't treat me the way she might treat someone remotely special to her, actually sometimes she barely treats me as a friend, and when I try to catch her scent it's always a mix of emotions so I can't really figure her out." He groaned, "I just…_really_…don't know what to do and the funny thing is, I _always _know how to deal with girls but when I'm around her I feel like I'm…I dunno…twelve again and still practising my kissing techniques on my pillow. Not that I did that, of course coz that would've been totally uncool." He added quickly as he saw her face turn into one of amusement.

Kori smiled and place her head on her head with her elbows resting on the dining table. She had that look on her face that told him that she knew something he didn't and that bothered him; how could she know something if she didn't even know who he was talking about? Unless she _did _know who he was talking about…but she couldn't, could she?

"Do I know this lady-friend of yours? The actions around her that you describe sound…familiar."

Garfield shook his head frantically, "No, of course not, I met her when I went clubbing with Vic two weekends ago and we exchanged numbers." He made the story up on the spot, hoping that she wouldn't check into the story because though he _did _go clubbing two weekends ago he didn't meet someone whom he exchanged numbers with, "I…er…went out with her a couple of times too…as friends only…and that's how I realised I liked her and all but I wasn't acting _right _around her."

Her brow quirked, "How is it that I do not remember you going out on your own? The only thing I remember is how you are always doing Raven the acts of annoyance…and yet…your story seems plausible enough." She pondered on it for a while, "What is the feeling generated by your heart when you are close to her, did you say?"

"I just feel really happy around her, like dude I swear, she could be the grumpiest person in the world and throwing insults at me and all but I'd always feel like I won Mega Monkeys 4." He smiled at that thought and raked a green hand through moss-green hair, "But I would always be mega confused…like…'I-have-no-idea-how-to-use-the-laundry-machine' confused. Like whenever I think I've made her smile; she smells the complete opposite of it and whenever I think I've pissed her off, she smells like she finds it amusing."

"She is starting to sound like friend Raven even more than before." Kori said in a matter-of-factly tone, "Are you certain that you are not depicting friend Raven?"

He bit his lower lip and hesitated, "I'm sure, totally and utterly sure."

He sighed.

Kori burst into fits of giggles suddenly and pinched him on the cheek with her bronze-orange fingers, "You are totally and utterly in love, my friend, extremely and massively in love with this lady-friend of yours; you opened your eyes and saw beyond her coldness and her actions and you still generate the feelings of love for her. It is truly marvellous. We must celebrate! I shall play the traditional Tamaranien love song tonight at the time of dinner. It will be truly glorious." She sighed and giggled once more, he thought it must be the after effects of too much sugar.

"Whoa there, Kori, who was talking about love? I was saying I _liked_ her, not _loved_ her…I mean…uh…yea." He crossed his arms, "Plus weren't you like mad at me two seconds again? Why are you going to celebrate my 'love' if you're pissed off at me?"

She cocked her head innocently and he had to laugh, "I am still…_extremely_…incensed at your actions but a friend in need must be helped most immediately or not their pain will only breed into something deep and nothing will be able to heal such a wound." She giggled and strays of crimson hair fell in front of her eyes, "And remember, friend Garfield, like is only a derivation from love and the two cannot be separated no matter how hard one tries. Eventually, you will love this lady-friend of yours."

"But…but…I haven't even asked her out yet…like…officially, and she doesn't even like me, I mean, like, I, like, I kissed her—only on the cheek!—and she totally froze and didn't say anything to me, she hasn't said anything to me _since_." His head hung depressively and he shook it, "I think…maybe…maybe we weren't really friends in the first place and it was all in my head."

"Then, she may just be feeling the same feelings that you are experiencing but she may just be a little withdrawn. Maybe you are just what she needs to get out of the shell she has been hiding in for all this time. You are under my command for the whole week, yes?" She asked and flashed him a grin from across the table.

Garfield nodded warily; what was she planning to do? Starfire was the kindest person he had ever met but sometimes when she was in this…mode…she kinda scared him, you never knew what she was going to put you through and you wouldn't be able to guess, not in a million years. He did sincerely hope, though, that it didn't involve any Tamaranien traditions; he found out through the years that it almost always involved some type of meat in strange shapes, 'beautiful' singing and loincloths. Well, it mostly involved Dick in a loincloth but the sight of his leader in one was enough to scar him for life and plead to be admitted in a mental hospital.

Seriously.

"Yes…why?"

"Then I _command_," She emphasised that word and she giggled, again, "that you do the asking of the out to this girl. Take her to a place that she will enjoy and I am quite positive that she will like you from then on…in addition to that, I think that friend Raven will find it most pleasing. I do think that she feels the same feelings you do."

"Ask her out…are you nuts!? I just told you that she's not even talking to me, how am I supposed to…wait a minute…did you just say 'friend Raven'?"

Starfire nodded giddily and her skin seemed to glow with enthusiasm. He slapped his head mentally; how did she find out? He didn't say her name…right?

"I'm…uh…not talking about Raven…never! I mean…like…she's my best…friend and all but…er…she's not…uh…ah…mmmm…" He trailed off to find her laughing like a madwoman, "Kor!"

"I am not as clueless as I sometimes pretend to be. Friend Garfield, the only person I have ever seen you act strangely around is friend Raven, even towards me sometimes you put up an act of complete happiness." She let a smile grace her luscious red lips, "She will accept, I know it." She gave him a squeeze on his shoulders and he gritted his teeth so as not to show that he was in pain.

He scratched his ears, "I don't know…"

"It is my command, is it not? You promised that you would do whatever I say for these couple of days and you do not want to know what I do with people who do not keep to their promises." Her eyes glared green.

He lamely let his gaze stray towards the pixie sticks and found that she had finished them all and evidently her tongue wasn't bleeding despite what he had warned her about. He nodded and forced a grin.

She smiled, "That's a good Beast Boy…now do the running along and buy me more pixie sticks…I do believe that I have finished them all." She grinned evilly and poked his shoulder, "Now go before I _really _generate the emotion of anger."

His eyes widened and he stood up and backed away from the door really slowly, making sure that she wasn't going to suddenly blast him with her green bolts. As soon as he got out of the door, he leaned against a wall and breathed heavily; he really didn't know what scared him the most; refusing to buy any more pixie sticks for Kori or asking Raven out.

And since when was Starfire such a smart cookie?

* * *

Raven flicked through the pages of a tabloid she had picked up randomly this morning and paused to look at yet another poll on whether Raven or Starfire reigned as the hottest teen superhero of Jump City.

She sniffed as the smell of molten metal hit her nose.

As always, Kori won by far and it didn't really surprise Raven anymore; Kori was more attractive, by far, and she had accepted that a long time ago. No one really fancied short girls with practically no colour in their skin, scraggly violet-black hair and a something on their forehead that resembled a zit.

Sigh.

She put down the tabloid and started to watch Cyborg as he repaired the security system that he was going to put into the section that had been blown off the Titans Tower. They were both currently in the workshop as she was feeling a bit lonely and Garfield had gone off to pay his dues with Kori.

Raven let her fingers trace her right cheek and she felt a flush come onto her face; why was she blushing? It was only a kiss after all, not even one on the lips, a kiss on the cheeks. She felt the heat on her cheeks and rubbed it vigorously with one hand, she _really _shouldn't be thinking about it, maybe it was nothing, maybe it was one of those 'oh-my-god-I'm-gonna-die-and-I-really-have-to-kiss-someone-before-I-die' things but…the obvious counterpoint would be that _no one _was going to die since it was really only a food fight.

Unless someone turned out to be lactose intolerant or something, of course.

But, really, why did he do it? One minute he was holding her hand and the next thing both of them knew, he kissed her and he himself was surprised too by his actions because she could sense it, he _really _didn't plan any of it. Did he like her? No…that was impossible, plus if it was possible—which it wasn't—she really wasn't interested in him anyway…it wasn't like every time they were together she felt her empathic powers strain to reach out more to find out every scrap of what he was feeling and that she felt comfortable around him. It wasn't that she was falling into the trap that Affection—she must've planned all of this, somehow!—had set out; she did not like Garfield Logan in _that _way! She did not!

Something smashed behind her and Raven cringed as she realised that it was because of her powers being taken over by her uncontrollable emotions, but what did Garfield say just before that fateful moment? He said something along the lines of the fact that she wasn't her emotions and that she merely experienced. Wise words coming from an idiot, what was the world coming to? But, she realised, he wasn't an idiot—well not always—he merely did not show his intelligent side too often but she knew—from all their conversations and their moments—that he wasn't an idiot, in all likelihood, he was far from it.

"Yo!" She heard Vic call out to her and it broke her from her reverie, "You OK, Raven?"

"Uh…yea…I guess." She replied shortly.

"Really?" He quirked a brow, "Coz you don't look so hot right now."

Raven shrugged nonchalantly and continued to flick through the pages, "Just stuff on my mind."

"Like…? It's really not like you to smash things up with your huge dark energy mass things unless whatever you're thinking about is pretty intense. You shouldn't keep it all bottled up, it's not good for you."

"And since when did you turn into a psychiatrist?" Her brows rose as she looked at him.

"Dude, calm down, I was just trying to help. I just don' like seein' you this was, that's all. You seem a lil' more down than usual."

Raven heaved a sigh and placed he tabloid down for a moment. Vic was genuinely concerned but she wasn't sure whether to share with him or not, he wasn't Kori after all and she never told anyone anything except to Kori…willingly anyway. Plus Vic couldn't possibly understand what her dilemma is; she didn't even really understand it herself.

"Come on…I know something's wrong. It's not like I'm goin' to tell anyone."

She choked in disbelief, "Yea right, king of all that is black mail. I'm sure you're not going to tell _'BB'_" She stated bitterly, her fingers forming speech marks to further emphasise her sarcasm.

"Says the queen of all darkness." He grinned and started chuckling as her face darkened, "Relax, Raven, I'm just jokin', you know how much I love ya', we're practically family. So, this thing involves BB, huh? What'd he do this time?"

"No…of course not…why would it?" She started to stutter but then regained her poise, "It's just that you and him are best friends—don't like best friends share everything with each other?—and, you've got to admit, he has an _extremely _huge mouth."

He chuckled, "Not _everything._ If it's that big a deal I promise I won't tell anyone." He flashed a grin towards her and started to tinker with the security camera he was fixing, "Unless I get something out of it, of course."

"Vic…"

He laughed and continued to work with the camera, "Chill, Raven, I'm jokin', you know me." He crossed his arms momentarily, "Now I _know _you got somethin' on yo' mind. Don't try hidin' it from me."

She sighed once more and threw up her hands; for the love of Azar, didn't anyone know when she didn't want to talk about something? She tapped an annoyed finger on her shorts and her spare hand fumbled with the oversized hoodie she was wearing—it was extremely comfortable—and she couldn't help but wonder if Victor knew more than he let on, he was always like that.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, suit yourself. It involves Gar, doesn't it?"

The way he was looking at her with boys eyes was starting to creep her out, he had that look that just made you want to tell him anything and everything and his presence always felt like that of an older brother, the nice kind. She leaned her chin on her palm and ignored the question her team member had posed her; maybe if she ignored it he would soon forget about it.

"You know…he's not that bad."

Her brows rose.

"All he does in his spare time, if he's not playing video games or partying, is vie for your attention." He wiped one of his tools until it shone, "To be completely honest, you should be flattered, kinda, y'know…if he wasn't all that annoying."

She pursed her lips and listened as he continued to speak.

"But I dunno…there's been something weird going on between you two ever since Brother Blood attacked the Titan Tower, like…I dunno…if I didn't know you two better, I would say that you guys had perfect chemistry, but of course, I know you guys better." She realised that her cheeks were flustering and she tried to shake her head but was too late as Cyborg noticed, "Unless…there _is_-"

She shook her head vigorously, "No…there isn't anything, _as if_." She said with further emphasis and bit her lip.

"He knows how to treat girls right, y'know…well…with other girls he's completely _charming_ and all but with you it's like he's twelve again." Suddenly his brow quirked upwards, "He didn't try anything on you, did he?"

Her blush darkened, "No."

"Good, coz I'd beat him to pulp if anything happened to you." He smiled and continued to work, "You _are _my sister after all, it wouldn't be right if anything happened to you. But, if you say there's nothing going on between you two then suit yourself, I'm jus' sayin'…he's not that bad a person once you get past his stupid jokes."

After he said that, for a moment Raven wanted to tell him everything; from the Humphrey Bogart movies, the abs, their argument, the spark she felt whenever Garfield touched her, Affection, to the kiss on the cheek that happened a couple of days ago, but there was something stopping her that wouldn't let her open up to Vic, even though she knew that she could trust him utterly and completely. She let her shoulders dropped and once again they were both in silence except for the hip-hop music in the background which Vic claimed helped him work better and more fficiently.

"Hey, Raven?"

She looked up, "Yea?"

"Did you get our personal mail today, you said you would."

Their personal mail was sent to a separate address than to the Titan Tower as not to blow their cover and reveal their true identities. The location was in an empty house in the middle of Jump City and everyone's personal mail was sent there, fan mail, on the other hand, was sent straight to tower and they came in truckloads, something Raven didn't whole heartedly enjoy.

"Yea, I did, this morning." She put her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and grabbed at the letters, "You got a letter from your old high school inviting you to come to the reunion and…a letter about a subscription to some computer magazine." She handed him the letters then continued to browse through the other letters before she stopped at an official looking one, "Hey…I didn't know Garfield had a bank account…actually I didn't know he owned any kind of money."

Cyborg paused and went over to her to look at the letter, "No way. Garfield? Bank account? Those two words don't exactly go together. When'd you think he whipped one up?"

"Don't know…" She held the letter in her hand and continued to gaze at it, "How much money do you think he has?"

"A dollar, tops." He guffawed then flashed her a grin, "Shall we open it and see how much he really has?"

She shook her head and saw his face fall, "No, it's confidential."

"Spoilsport."

She bit back a smile, "Whatever. "

Raven continued to flick through the letters and her eyes widened each time as the next couple turned out to be for Garfield and all were about the monthly updates on how much money they had in their bank account but…all three letters were from different bank companies which meant that whatever money Garfield had, it was spread out, which also meant that Garfield had _a lot_ of money which conclusively means that he was _rich_.

She gave one out to Vic, "Can you open it without Garfield knowing?"

He frowned, "Yea, I could just scan through it to see the numbers. Why?"

"He's got three bank accounts. _Three_. Even Dick isn't that rich yet since Bruce isn't dead." She showed him the envelopes.

"No way!" He snatched it from her hand and started scanning it with his mechanical eye, "Wait for it…wait for it…" Then he stopped suddenly, his mouth gaping open.

"So…how much does he have?"

He shook his head and pointed at the screen on his arm. She scrambled closer to get a good look at it. It was _her _turn to gasp; this had to be a joke.

Her eyes widened as wide as they could go.

There were _so _many zeroes on that one tiny screen.

**A/N: OK, the ending was a bit pointless and had nothing to do with the rest of the chappie but I had to put it in the story and I wasn't sure where so I conveniently put it here and don't worry...it will have it's uses in future chappies. No, seriously it will...**

**:puppy dog eyes:**

**Believe me!!**

**BTW, read and review like always?**

**Muchos love,**

**-MonkeeNoodles**


	15. We meet again

**A/N: For once I actually quite like this chappie though I admit it's a bit rushed and Raven is a bit OOC in here, but I gave it my best shot...enjoy!**

**PS. I'm trying out a really random writing technique and I want to know if you guys spot it; For the first half I used their superhero names to refer to each other but in the second half I used their normal names...can you guys catch why?**

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter 15**

"Finish him, Raven!" Robin shouted from the midst of destruction.

She nodded to herself and wrapped her mass of dark energy around Brother Blood, preventing him from moving a limb. She watched as he screeched in rage and his eyes widened at the thought of his defeat and with a single heart beat Raven concentrated on any sense of emotion and took it out of him, leaving him to look much like a helpless rag doll.

"What did you do?" A horrified Beast Boy gasped and stepped slowly away from their opponent, "He looks…dead." He shifted his horrified gaze towards Raven, his jaw hanging open in bewilderment.

Starfire reacted in a similar way, "Truly, friend Raven, what is it that you have done?"

"I took his emotions out, he's just a shell." Raven paused and quirked a brow as she saw that her team mates were appalled by this, "What? I'm not that inhumane, he'll have his emotions back in two or three hours once he's back in prison. He's not _dead_." She added as an afterthought and rolled her eyes as she saw Starfire and Beast Boy sigh in relief.

The area around them was in ruins as Brother Blood gave his everything to try and thwart the Teen Titans, to no avail, and bits of rubble scattered around the road, some pieces had been turned to dust due to both the Titans and Brother Blood and the dust stuck to everyone's clothes and some were just flying through the air pointlessly, making the air hazier and hotter than it should be.

Robin shut off his communicator, "That was the police; they'll be here soon to pick Brother Blood up. Let's go home." He smiled and took hold of Starfire's hand, "We've had a long day."

"Totally." Beast Boy grinned, "This means that we can just lounge about, right? Like totally do nothing and just hang about the tower. I mean, we do deserve a break, we just kicked like the dude's butt!"

"Yea, dude, betcha nothin' will happen for the rest of the day. You should play Mega Monkeys with us, Robin." Cyborg offered and nudged his ribs.

Raven saw Robin's fingers grip at Starfire's hand even tighter, "Nah, I'll get home…train…probably get a bite out with Starfire," he winked at her and Raven had to stifle a laugh as she saw her blush, "talk to the Justice League…I dunno...just not play Mega Monkeys."

"Truly, Robin? We will be taking the bite together?" Starfire quipped happily.

Robin nodded and Starfire responded by squealing giddily and pulling him into a breathtaking kiss—which of course, the paparazzi took full advantage of and took a lot of pictures of the two so they can sell it for millions, it was rare that Robin and Starfire to show affection out of the tower, well, it was rare for Robin—and Raven clenched her fists tighter as she was reminded of the kiss that Beast Boy had given her, she still hadn't talked to him since and she was starting to regret it; he had stopped trying. He didn't even say hi to her anymore, anytime they bumped into each other he just nodded his head in recognition then continued to ignore her and he didn't try to make her laugh anymore or even keep her company in the Common Room late at night when she was trying to get some sleep. Raven actually _missed _his company, it was like he was there physically but he was never really there mentally. So, OK, he was annoying, but she had always felt that he was one of the only ones who tried to make her laugh and he would keep trying even if it killed him. She never did think that it would stop…so, she ignored him for a few days but that was only logical, right? He _kissed _her without any warning and didn't even say sorry, not that she really minded, and she was just so _confused_; why did he kiss her? Did he do it on purpose? Could he possibly like her more than what they were…now?

"Raven, come on, we're going home." Robin announced and was grabbed by the shoulders by Starfire before being flown towards the Titans Tower.

That broke her right out of her reverie, "Right."

She closed her eyes and concentrated on creating a flat, plate-like surface with her dark energy. A rush of cold seared through her spine and in her mind's eye she saw what she had been creating for those brief seconds. Her indigo eyes opened in a flash and she smiled quietly to herself as she saw what she expected to see; a flat, plate-like surface.

"Cyborg, get on, it's a far ride to home sweet home." She stated drily.

Raven sat on the surface with her legs crossed and watched as Cyborg jumped onto it to stand next to her. She lifted the plate with her powers and guided it through the city; one day, she realised, it would be nice to settle down and just be _normal _for once, with someone that wanted to share those moments with you and you wouldn't have to blast people to smithereens or fly through the skies…you would just…be.

She was looking out for the directions and as she did a swift turn—with Cyborg almost falling off the plate due to his stubbornness not to sit down—her gaze strayed towards a green raven flying beside them. Her gaze was fixated on it but she didn't really know why, occasionally it would change into a bigger bird; a parrot, a falcon, an eagle, but it always reverted back to being a raven. She wondered why…

Suddenly, the Titans Tower was in full view; the T-shaped building gleaming magnificently in the roaring sunlight and the section that had been demolished was slowly being rebuilt by the cranes and other machinery surrounding the section. As they approached the tower, Raven couldn't help but note that she missed her room with all its quirks and privacy and the fact that she wasn't awakened in the morning by her other team mates for other reasons than to save Jump City.

"We're here." She croaked.

She landed the plate in the Common Room and couldn't help but notice that the way the light had entered the room through the huge glass windows created beautiful patterns on their floor, though of course, inevitably, this was interrupted by the squabbles between Cyborg and Beast Boy that usually ensued once they were in front of the TV.

"No, dawg, I told ya, we're playing Mega Monkeys Ultimatum!"

Beast Boy's whiney voice screeched back in the same tone, "But I don't wanna! I wanna play Mega Monkeys Ninja Strike! Ultimatum is so _boring_!"

"Don't even joke with me little man! Ultimatum is genius!"

"I'm not joking!" He growled, "It _is _boring! Ninja Monkeys are so much cooler!"

The argument dissipated soon after, however, and the two were fervently playing their stupid video game with eyes as wide as their windows, tongues lolling out and their fingers moving at the speed of light to press every possible button they could press before one killed the other. There was no other sound except for the constant bleeping of the video game and Raven couldn't help but think that if Beast Boy used the amount of concentration he used to try and win video games then she was convinced that he would graduate high school—or at least his tutoring, this was his last year as a high school student and he was the last since the rest had gotten their high school diplomas in previous years—with good grades and enter, or at least register for an online course, a good university. Raven herself was doing an online world literature major in UCL and was taking it all in with a pinch of salt and gritted teeth, it was hard work. Though to be honest she was lucky enough just to get _into _the course and she thanked Azar every time she was reminded of it but she thought Azar could've at least warned her that it was easier to take down Brother Blood, Dr. Light, Johnny Rancid and the H.I.V.E FIVE all in one day without any powers rather than tackle the actual course.

"Ow…" She pressed her chakra as her head felt like there were things piercing at it.

Well that was a bit ugly; she thought to herself, one of the emotions was trying to contact her. She went out of the Common Room and took a turn as to go to the kitchen where she was sure no one was at. Her footsteps felt heavy as if she had been flying for too long and wasn't used to the use of feet but she forcefully moved her feet at a quicker pace nevertheless and entered the kitchen. She was right; she thought as she took the hood of her cloak off, no one was in here, not Dick, not Kori and most obviously not Vic and Garfield. She was glad they weren't here, especially Garfield.

She floated in mid-air for a while; her feet loose beneath her, then crossed them and positioned herself so that she could begin to enter her meditative state. Her breathing slowed and she tried counting to smooth her way into that of pure being but her mind kept getting bombarded by other thoughts; she had a feeling about who was calling her from Nevermore and though she hated confronting the Emotions, she thought she had a few things that they had to sort out.

As her mind flowed through the rifts of her brain, she opened her mind's eye and was pleased to see that she was in Nevermore and not daydreaming about…things. What surprised her though, was her surroundings, this one was new; the sky was a cloudless piercing sky blue, the grass smelled sweet and the warm breeze sent chills—the good kind—down her spine. There was a waterfall at one corner and there were animals gathered around it, a lot of them actually, but the funny thing was that they were all in pairs; at the far end of this strange place in Nevermore there was a pair of lions rolling around, closer to her were two ravens and if she looked closely she could see a pair of butterflies fluttering past her.

"I see you've made it." A familiar voice stated.

Raven turned around, a sour expression painted on her face, "_You_." She said simply.

The cloaked figure shrugged her shoulders before taking off her hood and flashing a smirk at her direction, "My, aren't we a bit pissed…I wonder why." She smiled once more.

"What the Azar, Affection!" Raven grumbled pointed at her, her hand shaking furiously, "What is this all about?"

"What is what all about?" Affection replied innocently.

Raven gritted her teeth to prevent her from getting even more worked up than she was already, "_Garfield_! What have you _done_!? First we were OK and he was pissing me off like usual and I was attempting to kill him, per usual and now he's kissed me—_kissed _me for Azar's sake!—and we barely talk to each other and…and…I actually _miss _him." She exhaled heavily.

"I haven't done anything…_you _have. Though to be frankly honest I thought that it would take you a while before we even got to where we are, at this rate I'll actually be fully formed some time soon."

"You _have _done something…I refuse to believe that you didn't have your hand in…in…_this_." She hissed at the Emotion, "And I still don't understand…what the hell do you mean by saying that you'll be fully formed!?"

"I'm sure you do know, Raven, you just don't want to admit it and you know…" Affection paused for a while and let the pair of butterflies land on her fingers as she chuckled, "the more you resist the more you'll be dragged into it. I think it'd be better off if you just let it take its course…I mean, it's going to happen anyway."

Raven growled and her foot stomped on the sweet-smelling grass, "_What _is? Affection I'm sick of you riddles, can you _please _just tell me what the hell you're on about?"

The Emotion just giggled and continued to play with the two butterflies and Raven watched as they flew away and was replaced by the two ravens she had seen earlier. Why was everything in pairs? Even the plants, she noticed, were in pairs; sunflowers with sunflowers, oak trees with oak trees, nothing was in numbers more or less than two. She pondered on this for a while and then it dawned on her.

"You think I _like _him."

She shuddered as Affection traced a delicate finger on her lips, "Now you're catching on…and I don't _think_, I _know_."

"And by growing you mean…" Her gaze fell on Affection's cloak and she realised it was lighter than when she first saw her, "…you'll turn into Love and that I'll _love_," She churned the word with distaste, "Garfield."

"Oh," Affection cooed sarcastically, "I always knew you were the clever one. So…what do you think?"

"What do you mean, what do I think? I think it's utterly and _completely _preposterous, that's what _I _think. I cannot possible like Garfield; the notion in itself is _absurd_!"

Affection's laugh chimed like bells across Nevermore, "So you say, so you say…but do you really mean it?"

"I…" She started but was cut off by Affection.

"You start enjoying his company and you get confused when he isn't there to company you at night in the Common Room," She pointed out, counting them on her fingers one by one, "you stay in the infirmary for twenty four hours straight when he got injured-"

"But, he's a team mate! What else was I supposed to do?" Raven protested.

"Uh-uh." Affection tutted, "No interrupting. So, where was I? Oh yes," she continued counting, "you bought _that _dress, you get flustered when you are reminded of him and you've been ignoring him ever since that," a smile graced that identical face of hers, "_kiss_."

"You know for someone who claims to be the Emotion of Affection, you're not very fluffy and full of love and peace and joy and all that crap." Raven interjected, "You're like me…except…weird."

Affection shrugged, "Well, love isn't all rainbows and butterflies…it's more than that, through love we experience pain and suffering too but the balance is always established once we are with our other half. Plus I wouldn't be able to convince you of your feelings if I was as you say, full of love and peace and joy and all that crap." She picked up a flower from the ground and handed it to Raven, "So, admit it yet?"

"Even if I did—which I don't—wouldn't you know anyway? Why are you bothering to get a 'confession' out of me?"

"Because, you idiot," Affection stated bluntly, "Love cannot be fully love until the one who is experiencing it has embraced the whole matter and admitted to it."

Raven squirmed uncomfortably, "Well, you were the one who caused it…not me."

Affection shook her head, "No I didn't, _you _created me. Do you remember what Garfield said to you before he kissed you? He said-"

"-that I am not an emotion, I experience them." Raven cut in irritably, "I know, I know. Of course I remember, he kissed me a couple of moments after that, remember?"

"So…" Affection laughed and a smirk formed on her lips, "say it."

Raven didn't say anything for a while then motioned to lay on the grass, with Affection following in suit. The breeze was warm and soothing and it flowed through her hair as softly as silk and if she shut her eyes she thought she could hear her name being whispered intertwining with the gentle wind and the voice that called her sounded similarly like…

"Like Garfield, you mean to think, like Garfield." Affection giggled and finished Raven's thoughts, "He does have a really nice voice, especially after his voice broke…not that he can sing…" She trailed off and Raven stared at her, violet eyes wide open.

"I don't like him." She turned away from her, words coming out of gritted teeth, "Not in that way."

"OK, let me humour you, you don't like him…so…" Her mirror image closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air, "why have you stopped talking to him?"

"I…" Raven paused and found the words caught in her throat, "I…every time…uh…" She paused once more, "he…er…I don't know." She concluded finally.

"It's not like you to stutter…so cat got your tongue? A green one, maybe?"

"Now that's a lame joke if I've ever heard one." Raven grumbled, "It's just that whenever I'm near him we can talk—well he's the one who talks, mostly—about anything even if I do end up being the bringer of doom to every optimistic thought he owns and he's always so passionate about everything…like I'm passionate about…" she clawed for something she was passionate about then sighed, "nothing."

"Not true…Wisdom says you like books…a lot."

"Well, I guess. But that's different, when he speaks about something; every word that comes out of his mouth has a meaning to it. He's just so…alive…and it's nice to be near someone with that much enthusiasm in them…" she shook her head, "But that's not the point. I mean yes he affects me in some way but I'm pretty sure this isn't what affection or _love _is supposed to feel like."

"Well, how do you know what _it_—I resent being called an 'it', by the way—feels like if you've never experienced it before?"

"I mean from the way Kori describes love, it's the complete anti-thesis to what I feel like. I don't laugh at his jokes—because they are not funny, dammit!—and I always berate him for all the idiotic things he does in his spare time—like clubbing, how in the world is he going to get into a good university if he spends all his time clubbing instead of studying?—and all that incessant trans music—now that would drive _anyone _to the point of insanity—and you know what, just from this monologue you can _definitely _tell that I the feelings I have towards that _thing _is anything but affection." She seethed; the grass did not feel that comfortable to lie on anymore.

Affection giggled and rolled around for a bit, "I would beg to differ, for one thing your experience with love is totally different to Kori's; she already knew that she was in love with him from the first time she met him. You, on the other hand have been gradually pushed into this _situation_," she said delicately, "secondly I know you're lying about him not being funny, despite his attempts to try to inject some funniness into his jokes failing miserably, because Happy finds him funny and if Happy finds it funny then you do too. Thirdly you _berate _him because you know fully that he has a potential to be more than he is right now and you would be wholly disappointed—not to mention miserable—if he didn't become the man you know he's destined to be," Affection giggled and intertwined a wild daisy into her violet-black hair, "and last but not least…I'm quite…" she grinned, "partial to trans music, it reminds me of the way your heart races whenever you come in physical contact with Garfield."

"My heart does not race when he touches me!" Raven stated indignantly and sat up.

"I'm sure it doesn't." Affection replied, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"I don't like him because it's not like I feel any different whenever he's with me." She exclaimed in denial.

"You like him."

"I don't like him because it's not like I enjoy the Bogart movie nights with him."

"You like him."

"I don't like him because it's not like I _enjoyed _seeing him half naked."

"Those shoulders were…_magnificent_. You like him."

"I don't like him because it's not like I was scared half to death when he got that concussion."

"You like him."

"I don't like him because it's not like he scares the hell out of me when he gets all serious and asks me whether or not I _care_."

"You like him."

"I don't like him because it's not like I try to see how he's feeling every time he's near."

"You like him."

"I don't like him because I _definitely _didn't buy that dress for him."

"Oh, for heaven's sakes Raven, who are you kidding? You would never even consider that dress in a million years if it wasn't for that little thought in the back of your mind that you might wear it and impress him and that little speech Kori made. Admit it, you like him."

"I do _not _like him because that when he kissed me…I…I…" she started to falter and hunched her back, "I definitely…definitely…" she felt a lump in her throat, "I didn't…I…er…I…" she hung her head in shame, "I enjoyed it." She stated finally, "I was scared because I didn't know how to react and why he kissed me…but I liked it all the same." Raven blushed as she realised what she had just said.

"Meaning that you most _definitely _like him."

"I…" The lump appeared again, "I guess…" she started to twiddle her thumbs absently.

"Say it…" Affection coaxed with her vibrant eyes and sweet voice.

"Must I, really?" Raven asked pointedly but then caved in as her Emotion glared at her, "Fine." She harrumphed, "I like him."

"Like who?" Affection smirked.

"_Him_." She replied through gritted teeth, "I like _him_."

"I don't know who you're talking about…" Affection sing-songed.

Raven glared at the Emotion and pointed at her accusingly, "You are an _evil_ Emotion, that's what you are."

"Says the queen of all darkness." The Emotion echoed Vic's teasing statement, "You know you want to say it."

"Fine. _Fine_. I-."

"Yes?"

"Like." Raven clenched her fists tightly.

"Mmmhmmm."

"Garfield."

"Exactly."

"Logan."

The Affection sat up and patted her on the back, "Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Now that you've accepted the fact, don't you feel so relieved?"

"No." Raven stated dryly, "I feel stupid for liking someone like _him_."

"At least he's cute." Affection cooed, "And taller than you."

"Everyone's taller than me."

"Touché."

Raven stood up suddenly and crossed her arms. This was what Affection had called her into Nevermore for; to bully her into admitting that she liked Garfield Logan. Idiotic, selfish, clumsy, sickeningly optimistic Garfield Logan.

"I'll be going now."

Affection smiled softly, "I know. You've done what I sent you here for, I hope you make good use of it."

"Oh, yea, fat lot of help me liking him will be. Next time you call, do it for something important."

"And what is more important than admitting your true feelings?"

"Oh, I don't know." Raven shrugged and flashed her a smirk, "Being eaten by Rage, maybe."

The last things Raven saw was Affection's indignant face at such a suggestion before Nevermore spiralled beyond recognition and her eyes physically flickered open. There was still no one in the kitchen and, she glanced at the clock, she had been gone for a good two hours at the very least.

She took her cloak completely off before holding it in one hand; she couldn't believe that she actually _liked _Garfield, and yes she was admitting it to herself, but to be honest, she thought, it wasn't that surprising. He was, at times, funny, he brought a smile to her face—though they were mostly inward smiles—he paid her a lot of attention and, she knew, he cared for her, at least as a friend. Raven, however, didn't know how this was going to affect her current relationship with Garfield and was wondering if it would shed some light on why they were both acting oddly with each other or put even more strain on the already tense relationship. After all, despite the fact that she knew he cared for her, she was pretty sure that he liked her only as a friend. It was evidentiary, in fact, since when he was with Terra all he did was flirt with her, ogle at her beauty, and make sure that she was with him at all times. With Raven, he did none of these, so she was pretty sure that his affection towards her was limited to that of friendship. Yet…

She stepped outside of the kitchen and stood in the corridor by herself for a while, not knowing where to go or what to do. She could train, she guessed, but she was too tired for that, so she roamed pointlessly through the corridors with no definite destination.

…why did he kiss her? She shook her head and took out all the hopes that he may possibly like her too; the kiss was probably only a friendly kiss on the cheek, with no real meaning behind it. Still…no…she shook her head once more and listened as her boots clomped heavily on the metallic floors.

So, she liked him.

Sigh.

Her free afternoon wasn't turning out as enjoyable as she thought it would be, not that she found out about this little fact of hers, she didn't really know what to do since now she had a headached the size of an elephant.

Stupid Affection.

**A/N: So...Did you guys like it? If it was a pie what pie would it be? Scratch that...I'm not that partial to pies...how bout cake? If it was a cake what cake would it be? BTW, did you guys catch why Raven referred to her team mates with their super hero names until halfway where she referred to them with their normal names? **

**:grin:**


	16. Dancing

**A/N: Phew! At last I've updated! I know I took ages and I'm really sorry! It is mega-long though, so that might make up for it...though the chapters not as well as I envisioned it to be as when I re-read it, it seems all weird and jumbled up...but I hope you guys get the point of it all.**

**And yes, I know Beast Boy is underage.**

**Chapter 16**

It had been four days since the food fight had occurred and Garfield Logan was still under the grasp of the evil commands of Koriand'r, well, they weren't that evil, they were just strange and ridiculous; from asking him to play Dance Dance Revolution on the GameStation with her for twenty four hours straight, told him to run around in the highest high heels he had ever seen, made him eat five mega-jars of spicy mustard with random blue fungus, representing her at midnight and serenading Dick and proclaiming her love for the spiky-haired leader, but he still didn't complete the other task he set out for her; to ask Raven out, but then again Kori never told him _when _he needed to ask her out, so he presumed that the best course of action would be to wait it out until Kori had forgotten so he would never ever ask Raven out due to the fact that he knew in his very core that she would turn him down. But, that was for another day, today all he had to worry about was to not be attacked by Silkie—who had been growing _way _out of proportion recently—and eaten, if he was right, since today—according to Kori, he still had some doubts about it, though—was Tnalgork, a day when Tamaranien pet owners encouraged their pets to affectionately _nibble _at their owner's friends, though knowing Silkie, it was probably going to try to _eat _him. His team mates, apart from Kori of course, were also running around the tower for their life even though Kori had reassured everyone that Silkie was trained not to eat everything it sets its sharp teeth on.

His pointed ears twitched and he heard something that sounded like a cross between a purr and a growl causing him to run fast around the corner to try to hide from the monstrous pet. He didn't look forward and he was going too fast to care whether or not someone or something was in front of him, which, of course, meant that he had to bump into something.

"Ouch." Came a monotonous voice from the s_omething _that he had crashed into.

He shook his head and found that Raven was lying on the floor with a book in one hand and though her tone of voice seemed to suggest that the collision was nothing to cry over, her actions—that of rubbing her forehead and squirming uncomfortably—betrayed her true feelings.

He handed a hand to her to help her out, "Sorry." He offered shortly.

Surprisingly—or unsurprisingly due to recent events—she didn't take the hand and stoutly stood up on her own two feet before dusting herself off with her hand. He couldn't help but smile as he saw how much shorter she was compared to him and his heart seemed to be running a sprint when she looked up to meet his gaze with her own indigo ones.

She frowned as if she sensed his amusement, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." He muffled a laugh before he remembered that he was blanking her.

"I know you're ignoring me."

He didn't answer her question and continued to look out of the corner to see if Silkie was anywhere near his location.

Raven seemed to have read his mind, "Silkie's not here, he…she…" she shook her head, "_it _went running after Cyborg after he got too close and it _'nibbled'_," to add emphasis she demonstrated it with speech marks, "on his butt."

She didn't say anything as if, Garfield thought wryly to himself, she was waiting for him to laugh at her account but he refused to take the bait since she had never laughed at _any _of his jokes. He wasn't much for revenge but when she finally tried to be funny, he wasn't really in the best moods since her attempts to ignore him.

"So…" her throaty voice interrupted the silence that clouded both of them, "how is being Kori's slave going?"

"Fine." He replied; the purr/growl was heard once more and he looked around the corner only to find out that no one was there.

"Fine, don't talk to me then. All my efforts to find you and make up with you…wasted." His brows rose as her voice was once more coated with thick sarcasm.

"You started it."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Real mature, Logan."

"Right…" He flashed a grin at her, "Like how ignoring me was way more mature than that." He bit his lower lip as she glared at him.

"Point taken."

The silence was back between them and Garfield watched as she fumbled with the hem of her shirt. He knew what she was thinking about, and he was thinking about it too; the kiss, that magical but very stupid kiss. He had been thinking about it for a while, too and had been wondering on how he was going to approach her on that very subject; he guessed it was now or never.

"That kiss…er…the other day-"

Raven interjected, "Forget about it." She said hastily, "It was just a…_friendly _kiss, right? Like…the ones friends give to other friends."

He wanted to deny it and say that of course he wouldn't kiss Raven if he didn't like her in that way, this was Raven they were talking about, and not—if he had to compare her with anyone open-minded—Kori. Instead he nodded and spoke through gritted teeth, agreeing to every word that had just spilled out of her pale lips.

"Yea, sure, that was it." He noticed that her scent changed subtly from that of curiosity to that of curiosity mixed with a hint of disappointment.

Disappointed? Why was she disappointed? Could it be that…?

"Unless…" He started but then was interrupted by her.

She shook her head, "No…it was nothing more than that…I guess." She whispered the last bit so quietly that if it wasn't for his sensitive hearing, he probably wouldn't have heard it.

"Right."

"So…are we OK?" Her voice came out timidly, not like the usual tone he was familiar with.

He couldn't help it, she seemed so…vulnerable when she asked him if they were going to get along from now on and stop ignoring each other.

"Sure," he flashed her a grin and was replied with a twitch of her lips, "now help me escape from Silkie before it bites my head off."

"Uh…" He noticed that she looked like she was going to blurt out a sarcastic remark but she held it in, "OK…now what do I do?"

He took her hand and dragged her towards the corner where he could simultaneously look out for Silkie and hide from the beastly thing and subconsciously his green fingers kneaded softly at her palm. She suddenly stiffened and he realised what he was doing and he moved to stop but…she didn't say anything, she didn't protest or disagree or look at his hand in disgust; she acknowledged it and continued to look around the corner. Could it be that…? No, he shook his head, she was just…trying to be friendlier, more open, that was all.

"Just make sure that Silkie doesn't come _anywhere _near me, and if it does…I dunno…smack it up a bit or something…but don't actually hurt it." He added as an afterthought as he realised that he was willingly talking about harming an animal, no matter how weird it was, "On second thought, just scare it a bit, no need to touch it. Can you do that?"

"_Can_ I do that?" She asked rhetorically and the familiar venomous sarcasm coated her words once more.

He smiled, "Just checking."

A smile traced itself on her lips and he watched, enamoured, as the unfamiliar expression graced itself on the canvas that was her face. Her lips were pale, but not like gross, dead pale, but they were the lightest shade of pink, barely there as if whoever created her decided at the last minute she wouldn't have any colour on her lips but had taken the colour away far too late so she was left with a pinkish stain.

She noticed that he was staring at her and her brow rose, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," He laughed and poked her shoulder, "I'm looking at nothing but the most breath taking sight in the world." He said half-jokingly.

"You flirt with anything that moves, don't you?"

"Aw…you make it sound like it's a bad thing." Garfield pouted and he smelled amusement emanating from her, "You know you love it.

Her brows twitched and her amusement scent increased and became so overpowering that he sneezed, "Well," the smiled danced mischievously on her lips, "I am becoming quite partial to it."

If he hadn't stopped himself, his jaw would've dropped, detached itself from the rest of his skull and rolled through the corridors until Silkie had found it and decided that it was good enough to eat. Raven, queen of all that is darkness, master of all that is sarcastic, indifferent to all that is unnecessary, just said that she liked it! That she liked it that he was flirting with her! Indirectly, of course, but she admitted it all the same. Shit, he thought, she _liked _it when he flirted with _her_.

_Liked it_!

Shit, shit, shit, what was the world coming to?

* * *

It was like this for the next week, it was like they were doing a dance or something and if Garfield knew better then Raven knew exactly what sort of dance they were doing and he was left wondering whether they were waltzing, swing dancing, jiving, break dancing, raving or even doing an Irish jig. It was just so fucking confusing…she was—he scrambled around his head for the right word—different. It wasn't exactly that she smiled more and she was more open to him and more talkative, it was just that there were these…_moments_…where no words would be exchanged but he always left the room with the feelings that _something _quite eventful had happened.

He scratched his ears and glanced at her sitting on the couch, her head resting on one fist and her other hand holding up a novel of some sort for her to read. Her eyes followed the words on the papers slowly and sometimes they went back to re-read something he knew Raven found amusing, causing her to fold the corner of the page. It was funny, she never let anyone read her books, let alone touch them in fear of the other person damaging her most prized possessions, but all her books always looked like they had been eaten by a dog and spat back out again, though Raven claimed that it was proof that she loved the books because she read and re-read them so many times that they fell apart at her hands. She seemed to realise that his gaze had strayed too long on her and she looked up at him, no expression on her face—not even a smile!—except that of her eyes; they were smiling, he realised, she was amused by something, something he was doing…something he said…

_Moments._

He pondered on that word for a while and smiled guiltily, he always thought _moments_, of the romantic kind anyway, were defined as an everlasting hug in the rain, a date by the lake, a long awaited kiss in an abandoned Ferris wheel, all that crap, but the moments that he shared with Raven…he weren't even sure if they could be defined as _moments_. There were just times when, Garfield wasn't even sure if he was just reading in too much into his surroundings, he'd be walking through the corridors of the Titans Tower and he'd pass her and would walk quietly past her so that he wouldn't interrupt her read-walking but without warning she'd lift her head and acknowledge him with a smile dancing on her amethyst eyes but then she'd go right back into the book and walk past him without saying a word. Sometimes, on movie night usually, they'd be sitting by each other coincidentally and his hand would accidentally brush her shoulders when he tried to get the popcorn from Vic and he expected a total vocal bashing at how she wasn't to be touched by anyone, lest him, but nothing came out of his actions. Or they'd find themselves alone for whatever reason and they stayed in that position without moving for a long time and Raven would always be the one to break the silence by leaving but not without a demure "Thank you" with a scent of genuine gratefulness, which left him wondering what she was thankful for. Then there were even times when she even flirted with him…not openly but with a certain subtlety that irked him sometimes and caused him to wonder whether or not his presumptions on her recent flirtatious nature were right; his sensitive, pointed ears picked out how her voice lowered in tone ever so slightly when he decided to throw a flirtatious comment at her and her remarks were sharp and sarcastic as ever but they had a dash of lightness in them, a hidden compliment, and they weren't cruel.

_Ugh_…he thought, something like this could make _anyone _have a headache the size of…an elephant.

"You OK, Garfield?" She looked up from her book, a questioning brow rose.

That broke him out of his thoughts and an idle hand moved to scratch his ear, "Totally." He forced a grin, "You? You seem to be meditating a lot…something wrong? Tired again? You can use my room again if you want…you know…to meditate and shit." He added offhand, but then bit his lower lip as he felt like the use of a swear word wasn't totally appropriate.

"No…I'm fine, I've just been having…_conversations _with someone. So, no, I don't need to go to your room to meditate and…"she blinked purposely, "_shit_."

He laughed at the emphasis she had put on the word 'shit' with an unrecognisable lilt on it that indicated that she too was amused by it.

He changed the channel and was pleased to find a game show on; it was nine in the evening, after all, and the TV channels were rife with this sort of entertaining junk, "So…did you read the newspaper yesterday? The 'People' section?" He commented idly.

"Yes, the one about the _dashing _Dick Grayson coming back to Gotham for a charity night with his father, the _scandalous _and _deliciously rich_ Bruce Wayne, accompanied by a _beautiful_, _tall _and _mysterious _red-head?" She did a perfect imitation of the headline and the laugh erupted from his lips once more.

"I can't believe the dude is totally _loaded _and we didn't find out until we recognised him from one of the tabloids. He's like Bruce-frickin'-Wayne's son, adopted, but still…he's going to get a lot of cash when Bruce dies…not that it's gonna be anytime soon, of course, the Batman is too good to die. But yea…"

Raven frowned, "Well, I expect some of the money is going to go to a charity of some sort if Batman ever dies. Bruce is notorious for going to every charity event there is and giving away his money to that particular charity like free candy."

"Yea, but Batman would never grope at the ladies…Bruce Wayne does."

"I don't see how that has any relevance to what we were talking about." She pursed her lips.

"Uh…" he raked a hand through his hair and realised she was right, "yea…just that you could never in a billion years imagine _Batman _groping someone's ass."

"True."

"But, dude, Dick is so frickin' loaded that he could buy an island if he wanted to…and I can't believe he took two million years' worth of convincing to get him to buy me a moped. It's not like it cost that much; it was probably only petty change for him!" He complained.

Her replied surprised him, "Well you could've bought one with your own money, it's not like you don't have any."

"Huh?"

"Here…" she scrambled around in a hoodie he had been seeing on her constantly and took out three envelopes, "I forgot to give these to you."

His eyes widened and he snatched the envelopes from her grip as he realised what they were, "When did you get these? When did you pick up the personal mail? Why did you pick it up?" He knew his voice was going one million miles per hour but he wasn't thinking straight, "I always pick it up. _Always_."

She looked at Garfield with confusion and he realised that panic was laced visibly on his face, "About a week ago, things just kept coming up so I forgot to give you your mail…and the other guys' mails…except for Vic since I was with him when I just got them. I was feeling…_nice_ that day and I didn't have anything particular to do since, as you may notice, my room is currently unavailable."

"Oh…" He calmed down a bit and felt his heart slow down to its normal rhythm.

"I didn't know _you _had that much money." She said pointedly.

"I…" he hesitated, "don't."

How did she know? He groped at the seals of all three envelopes and discovered that they were all unbroken. The room suddenly crackled with silent tension while he looked back at her and found her biting her lip in curiosity.

"Yes you do. You're at least half of what Dick's worth…or will be worth if Bruce dies and _that's _a lot."

He inhaled sharply, "How do you know?"

She knew, it shouldn't bother him, it wasn't a bad thing, but it bothered him. He didn't want anyone to know, he was content to being stupid, poor little Beast Boy with no money to speak of. He ground his teeth and glared at her, forgetting that he liked this person, quite a lot, and in a special way.

"How…do…you…know?" His voice was a little too loud even in his own ears.

"I…" her gaze was every bit as intense as the one he was giving her but there was a hint of surprise glimmering in them, "I was curious on how you have _three _bank accounts and I…I got…" she hesitated before continuing, "Victor to look into it…by using his…er…x-ray vision."

He inhaled sharply once more and a growl escaped his lips, he didn't know why he was mad…but he was…he was _really _fucking mad…he didn't know who he was madder at, though, Victor or Raven. It wasn't like they would act differently if they had find out that he was rich—they didn't treat Dick any differently—and it wasn't like he was ever really going to spend _that _money anyway, he almost never looked at how much money was in _that _particular account but he had just always felt that some things needed to be kept private and this money, and where it came from, was one of those things.

"That," he stated through gritted teeth, "is not cool. Who gave you the right to look at my account records? My _private _account records!"

"Well, you were the one who kept it secret." She said, trying to be matter-of-factly about it but he could hear the heat creep into her voice as well, "I don't see why it's such a big deal."

He snorted, "_Big deal_? Of course it's a frickin' big deal! These are private! _Private_!" He took the envelopes in his hand and ripped the one he knew she was referring to, "You've always told me you needed your privacy and that no one was ever allowed in your room! I can't believe you of all people would turn out to be a hypocrite." He mumbled begrudgingly.

"And look where _that _got me!" The heat had fully entered her voice now, "You always ended up in _my_ room playing with _my _things one way or another!" She glared at him, "What the hell is wrong with you? What's so bad about having a little money?"

"That's not an excuse and you know it!"

He was fuming now, he could practically feel steam wafting out of his pointed ears and she was shaken too; her fists were clenched tightly and they were staring daggers at one another, both mad at each other because of their incapability to understand.

"No, I _don't _know it! You never told me—any of us—to stay away from your personal mail…you just always insisted to pick it up even though you know well enough that any one of us could've picked it up in your place! Being rich isn't bad!" She shouted back at him, exasperatedly and he could see a couple of the cushions burst apart, balls of cotton flying everywhere.

"You always told _me _to keep away from your things and _you _didn't keep away from _mine_!" He hissed.

Raven crossed her arms, "This is not about me, you fool, I don't even know what this is about! It's not like you to get pissed off at something this fickle." She sighed, "I know it was wrong and I'm sorry but I was just curious on why you have three bank accounts when you buy deodorant from the _dollar store_."

"Well maybe you just don't know me as well as you like to think you do," he sneered and watched her face turn to pure indignation, "and maybe you're not sorry enough!"

He stood up and walked off, footsteps getting heavier at every second, each and every step emanated with that of fury, his fists clenched tightly that he thought that his nails had pierced his palm, causing them to bleed. Garfield bit his lip lividly and he stepped out of the Common Room without a word, heading straight towards the elevator; he didn't know where he was going but he knew one thing, he was going out, out of the Titans Tower, and _now_.

The journey down the tower took more or less five minutes and once he stepped out onto the grass, a gust of wind brushed his cheeks harshly and he stared furiously at the inky black sky as if blaming it for his current bad mood and tread heavily towards the end of the path. His hands fumbled through the pockets of his jeans and found the ring he was looking for and once he found it, he grasped placed it between his teeth.

What right did Raven have in looking at his confidential documents? What right?

He shook his head for two short seconds before realising that he was standing on the edge of an island looking like a green idiot, or as Vic would most probably kindly put it, a green grass stain or a green bean, or any other plant material that was, well, green. He spread out his arms, knowing full well that if I was anyone other than him doing it they would look like a complete idiot, and watched as he developed feathers rapidly, one by one, on his arms and on his entire body. He felt his lips configure to that of a beak and his legs turn scaly and three-toed, but the painful bit hadn't even come yet.

She knew that they were private and she still looked into them! He _trusted _her wholeheartedly and she repaid him by looking at the documents most valued by him, both because of how it represented the memories he loved, and also the memories he hated.

He leapt into the air and felt his body suddenly constrict and mould itself into the appropriate shape; he could hear every bone crushing and his muscles stretched and compressed to accommodate the appropriate anatomy that of a bird, his arms bent in completely different angled and his eyesight was limited to being black, white and grey all over. There was an upside to all this pain and discomfort though; _flying_. He loved flying, the sheer rush of wind embracing you, the lightness of the body and the feeling of freedom to go anywhere and everywhere just by lifting your wings and soaring.

His wings led him across the sea that separated the Titans Tower to the rest of the Jump City society and over the city he called home. It was beautiful in a different way than what was natural; bright lights blinked at him, some sparkled, and some stayed very still but in different colours, and they just made the city look like an artificial imitation of the night sky that blanketed everyone at night. He now knew where he was heading for, and he landed in a dark alleyway where no one would be able to see him.

As he started transforming back to his normal self, he spat out the ring and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "Gross."

There was music in the background, he realised with a grin, pumping, energetic trance music with the bass on the loudest that made your heart beat synchronically with it. He hurriedly placed the ring on his finger and brushed his hair roughly with his fingers so that he wouldn't look such a mess; tonight, Beast Boy was going to have fun. At that thought, he grinned despite what had previously transpired between him and Raven, for now, there was only him.

He walked out of the alleyway and towards where the music was sounding the loudest and grinned in satisfaction as he came in front of a club, his favourite actually, and by the sounds of it, it was _wild_. There were two bouncers in front of the door and with some pushing and shoving, Garfield found himself in front of the line. They scrutinized him to see if he was of the age, which he wasn't though if he moved to England, he would be, and after what seemed to be a long time, they let him in.

"Fuck yes."

It was dark except for a few flashing lights and everyone was dancing as if there wasn't a care in the world, and even the people who weren't dancing were enjoying themselves at the bar, either drinking themselves to sleep or just to get whatever boost the alcohol gave them. The music was even louder inside than it was outside and the beat automatically made him want to move to the music, with his heart pumping in time to the beat and the adrenaline coursing through his veins. There were girls, loads of girls, all skimpily clothed and dancing as if their lives depended on it. The club was hot, sweaty, dirty, loud, all that he expected from a good club and he knew he was going to enjoy himself.

Was he? What about Raven and his trust? What about the fact that she had used his best friend to look at his documents? What about…?

He shook his head, there was no thinking about those things here, it was, after all, the reason why he came here; to distract himself from the anger and frustration he had displayed before. Almost as if he was on automatic, he moved towards the bar and winked at the bar tender—an attractive woman, older than him, but still pretty fine—and she walked towards him with a cocktail in one hand and her other hand placed haughtily on her hips.

"What you gonna get, honey?" She asked, her words sounding like sweet honey.

He smiled and took out some money and handed it over to her, "A Bacardi Breezer, doll face, and make it quick. I need it…_bad_."

She smiled at him and blew him a kiss, "Well you've come to the right place, babe, all we do here is have good…clean…" she giggled huskily at that word, knowing full well that it wasn't true, "_fun_." She whispered the last word to him before walking off to get his drink.

"Keep the change, doll face."

He twisted his chair around and leaned back on the table to watch the crowd as they danced, the air brimming with excitement and sexuality. His fingers tapped subconsciously on the hard marble table as the music blared through the club, and his head nodded to the fast and hard rhythm of the music, hardly consistent but incredibly effective in convincing him that he wanted to dance but he stopped himself, for the moment at the very least, he wasn't very good at dancing unless there was something streaming through his veins.

A hand tapped at his shoulder softly and he spun his chair back towards the table and smiled as the bar tender placed a blue Bacardi Breezer and a glass for him to pour the substance in, "Here you go, hun."

"Thanks."

He poured the blue liquid into the glass until it was brimming with the alcoholic substance and tapped his feet to the beat of the current song that was playing, 'Discoteka'. He picked up the glass and stared at it for a while, mesmerised by the sheer colour of the liquid, before he drank it all down; his head felt lighter and everything seemed to be a bit more…fun…than it was before and—damn it all!—he wanted to dance!

Garfield stood up and enmeshed himself into the crowd, moving along to the music as he made his way through to the most crowded area of the club. He was alone but he danced anyway, feeling the music guide his movements and enjoying the sights while he was at it; the flashing lights, the happy people, the girls and just the sheer atmosphere of the place got him electrified his every sense of euphoria.

Suddenly he felt a soft touch on his shoulder and a throaty voice whispered in his ear, "Come here often?"

He spun around and held her hand, "No…you?"

She was gorgeous; thick curly brown hair that went down to her waist, full, luscious lips, green eyes and the longest lashes ever known to man. Her figure wasn't too bad either, she was curvy all over and she could dance, boy could she dance.

"I'm a regular but…" she smiled and placed a finger under his chin, "you must be new here or not I would've remembered a face like yours." Her voice sounded like a purr of a cat

He twirled her around, "My, my, flirtatious are we?"

"Just a bit." She grinned slyly and moved in closer so that they almost touched.

Her moves were fluid like water and they danced as one instead of as individuals and unlike the one he did with Raven, he knew this dance clearly, a dance he had been doing ever since he had grown out of his geeky, stick-thin demeanour; one would make a move, the other would reply, they would dance and in the end, at the very least, he would receive a kiss or two in the dark corners of the club. He held onto her waist for a few moments and tried to revel in the freedom he currently had, that of not being in the clutches of feelings for another, but he quickly pulled his hands away as Raven's indigo eyes flashed through his head for half a second. What were her eyes doing in his head? He wasn't here to think about her, he was here to have _fun_. So have fun already, dammit!

Sigh.

The song they were dancing to ended and the DJ transitioned to the next song by overlapping the end of the first song with the beginning of the second song, making it sound disorientated and strange. She whispered some words in his ear—his eyes widened inwardly at what she was saying but he kept his cool—and led him off the dance floor, soft delicate hands gripping at his own roughly calloused ones towards the final destination that this particular dance always led to; the dark corner.

He slipped his arms around her and aggressively she took his face in her hands and dragged his face downwards so that they would start making out but as soon as his lips touched hers, he felt like he wanted to jerk backwards away from her; her lips were soft and kissable and there was passion in her kiss but there was also the unfamiliarity of it and the fact that it felt utterly…wrong…like he wasn't supposed to make out with this sexy creature in front of him but someone else, and he knew exactly who that someone else was.

"You're more delicious than you look…" The girl said softly as she broke the kiss before continuing it.

He pushed the thought of Raven away from his head with all his might and kissed the girl back with as much passion as she was giving him. Their lips joined together in different momentums, sometimes they kissed slowly and softly but at other times they seemed rushed, almost abusive but despite how much he was enjoying the kiss—which he had to admit, he was enjoying it a whole lot, he _was_ still a red-blooded male despite his green skin—his thoughts constantly trailed back to Raven and how it would feel to kiss her with this much fervour, with this much adrenaline rushing through him and those thoughts lead to other thoughts, thoughts that flashed through his head a million miles per second, like how she was probably confused and vulnerable now, how her witty yet sarcastic banter had always managed to make him smile despite the fact that they were mostly insulting him, how her eyes were as pretty and breathtaking as the sunrise, how her voice sent shivers down her spine the way that it was throaty and clear at the same time but mostly, he thought, mostly he thought about how much she meant to him and how much he knew he was going to _really_,_ really _regret doing anything other than kiss this girl that was in front of him instead of explaining to Raven calmly on why her actions had bugged him even if she didn't accept his explanation and hated him for a _really _long time.

He knew he was going to regret it.

"Uh…" he mumbled, his Casanova charm suddenly switching off, "I've got to go…you're a nice girl…really…and I…uh…enjoyed your company but I have to go meet…someone."

He rushed past her; accidentally pushing her against the wall and leaving her look like an indignant deer caught in the headlights. He pushed past the dancing crow, struggling to get to the exit by elbowing anyone who was in his way, causing a few offended grunts but no one did anything to him so he thought he was safe from being pummelled by someone who was both drunk and angry. Once he reached the door, he pushed himself through it, forcing himself to get out of the suddenly stuffy and overcrowded night club and into the cool yet abandoned city. Garfield's head started to hurt and his feet staggered all over the place—he swore he didn't drink much!—causing him to fall down a lot. He continued to walk towards the end of the city but found it hard since the city lights disorientated him a bit. Garfield glanced at his watch to find out that it was only about half past eleven and that he hadn't stayed that long in the club even though it felt like he had been there for ages.

"Geez." He groaned as he stumbled on a rock and fell on the ground.

He sat up on the ground and dusted off his clothes with his hands and moved to stand up but he decided against it, figuring out that he wasn't going to get that far feeling all light headed and directionally deprived. The air was cold, he laughed wryly to himself, exactly how he felt right now.

He was certain that no matter what he told Raven, she wasn't going to forgive him that easily and even if she did, she wouldn't want to admit that she was at fault even though, truthfully they were both at fault; her for looking at his private documents without asking for permission and him for not telling her, for not telling the others, about his…monetary situation and how he came about it. They—for Dick had probably already knew from before anyone had read his documents, or at least suspected, and Garfield wouldn't put it past him to tell his girlfriend—were probably wondering why he kept it so secret, so close to his heart, since he was usually someone who wore his heart on his sleeve, and told everyone everything and anything. Yet, circumstances were different…the money…it had always been private and will always be private, at least figuratively.

Suddenly a flash of bright white shone in front of his face and he instinctively snarled before he would control himself, but once he calmed down, he realised what he was looking at; it was the T-car. The door opened and out came a huge figure, well built and friendly looking, holding out hid hand for him to stand up.

He took it, "Vic, what are you doing here?"

"Where the hell were you, dawg? I busted my ass off tryin' to find you before Dick discovered that you had gone AWOL, and on a weeknight too!" Victor gritted his teeth and pulled Garfield up, "Have you been drinking?" He sniffed at Garfield's hair, "Oh man! You been to a club, didn't you? Fuck it, BB; you gotta take a shower as soon as you get to the tower. Ya know Dick's gonna screw if he smells the smoke and alcohol on you!"

"I've been…thinking."

"Thinking, my ass!" His brow rose but then he stopped as he really looked Garfield in the face, "Fine, let me humour you. So what were you thinking about that forced you to go all the way to Jump City? And thinking in a _club_? What were you thinking!?"

"About a girl. There's this girl I really like…and I screwed it bad, Vic, I screwed it bad, over something really, _really _stupid." He realised half way that he didn't make any sense at all and flashed his best friend a grin, "I'll fill you in the details later, but right now…I wanna go home."

Victor grumbled, not understanding one bit of Garfield's ramblings, "Fine, but don't go blamin' me if you get a _mahoosive _hangover tomorrow. We're going home."

He grabbed Garfield by the wrists and dragged him into the car, almost without any effort. In the car, Garfield took off his holographic ring and frowned as his skin instantly turned green gain, different shades of green, but still green. He sighed and listened as his best friend muttered angrily about him being an idiotic green bean and Vic be the one who always had to clean up after the younger Titan. He leaned on the window and laughed as a thought came to him; how did Vic know that he needed rescuing from the grasps of Jump City at night? Did Raven alert Vic as soon as he left the tower? He laughed once more, knowing full well that he looked like an utter nut, laughing by himself, but he had to; since Raven would most probably kill him before he had a chance to apologise, he would probably be incapable of doing the task he avoided all along, doing the task that Kori had set him.

**A/N: So...not that confusing, I hope? It was a bit confusing...even to me! And I had so much writers block trying to write it out well but ah wells, I tried. Oh yea, in the next chappie I'll have Beast Boy explain why the hell he went all crazy when he found out that Raven read his stuff, Okies?**

**Reviews please on what you like, what you didn't like, what I can improve on...etc!**

**Love you all!**


	17. Money and Oceans

**A/N: Warning! LONNNNNNNNNGGGG CHAPPIE! Tried my best at portraying like...sadness...and I hope you like it...sorry if I took like two million years updating...the IB will be the death of me!**

**BTW: For those who don't know who the hell Galtry is, he was Beast Boy's guardian after his parents died and tried to embezzle his money and stuff.**

**2nd BTW: ZOMG! The reviews have gone past 100!! Cannot believe it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story and hope you continue to do so...**

**:grin:**

**lubb yoo all!**

**Chapter 17**

"Dick!"

Garfield waited impatiently as Dick avoided a kick from the training machine before turning it off with the remote control. It was hot in the training room and perspiration was inevitable, he grumbled, he didn't want to be all gross and sweaty when he went to talk to Raven. He wondered idly why Vic didn't install an AC in this room since no matter what season it was; it always seemed to be gross, sweaty and hot in this part of the building.

"What is it?" He looked annoyed, "You're interrupting my training time, Garfield." Dick shook his stiffly gelled head, "As a matter of fact, aren't you supposed to be training too?"

"Well…I got things on my mind…" Garfield flashed a grin at his leader, "Say…dude…have you seen Raven anywhere?"

Dick seemed to ponder on this for a while before shaking his head, "Nope…as a matter of fact…I haven't seen her since…" His crystal blue eyes looked upwards as if in thought, "last night."

Garfield grumbled and his mouth twisted into a pout reminiscent of a child's when they did not get what they wanted. He turned to go out of the training room before Dick forced him to start training; Vic _was _right, he did have a _mahoosive _hangover today.

Sigh.

At Garfield's expression and looked him straight in the eye, "What did you do this time, Garfield?"

"I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed exasperatedly, "Well…not really anyway."

"This bond…" Dick started.

He wriggled uncomfortably as they were once more both reminded of Dick's hallucinations concerning Slade and the measures Raven had to go through to get through to him, which now resulted in a bond between the two that made Garfield—if he was completely honest—jealous. He _wanted _that bond that the two shared and he hated the fact that he had to work his ass off just trying to make conversation with Raven and now…now…he may have blown it.

"What about it?"

Dick went on to continuously stare at his palms as he clenched and unclenched his fists, "This bond…" he started once more, this time Garfield didn't interrupt him, "I know how she feels." He gazed sharply at Garfield with his piercing blue eyes and Garfield gulped cautiously, "Don't blow it." And with that he turned his back on him and turned the machine back on so that he could continue to train his head off.

His mouth almost dropped open but he stopped himself, at least until he was out of the training room. Did Dick just say what Garfield thought he said? Did he just say that Raven liked him back? Well then his bond must be malfunctioning, he thought, there was no way that Raven liked him, it was just really, _really _weird. As if Raven would like anyone like him, it was just too impossible, too—if he was going to use big words for once in his life—improbable. He shook his head and stalked the corridors hastily, his every sense at a constant alert of Raven. He wouldn't feel right if he didn't apologise and…explain a few things.

It wasn't right.

His footsteps felt heavy and slow and he urged himself to be faster even though he was already walking at quite a fast speed. He turned as the corner approached and thought for a while, where would Raven be?

"Shit!" He grumbled as he bumped into something.

He stared at the floor for a few moments and realised that he was looking at a pair of orangey-bronzey legs. He looked up and saw Kori's face staring back down at him.

"Oh…er…hi."

"Hello, friend Garfield, where do you think that you are going to?"

Garfield stood up rashly, "Er…"

"You are walking around hastily trying to find friend Raven, are you not?" She crossed her arms and gave him a look that told him that she was _completely _pissed off at him.

"Er…yea…I guess." He scratched his ear, "Have you seen her?"

"Seen her?" Her brows rose, "I have spoken with her and _you_, friend Garfield, have made her extremely upset and extremely confused."

Garfield threw his hands in the air as her eyes glowed threateningly at him, "What!? I know I made a mistake and _that's _why I'm trying to find her. C'mon…you gotta tell me where she is…I need to apologise to her before well…before everything is even more screwed up than it is now."

She sighed and leaned against the wall, her statuesque body relaxing as he told her that he was going to apologise. Kori flicked her red hair out of her face and tried not to smile but Garfield could see that she clearly needed some practice on her serious face.

"You will promise me that you will be making it up to her? She is in a lot of distress even though she is not showing it, but I can tell, for she is my sister." She laughed airily and the serious tone was broken.

"Totally, I promise."

She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, "She is outside…near the rocks. I think she is waiting for you, no matter how strange that is. You should go there most immediately."

"Right." He gave her a quick hug, "Thank you Kor, I owe you like a gazillion pixie sticks, I swear."

He rushed off before Kori could answer and he ran as fast as his feet could take him; downstairs, through the corridors and out of the tower. The air smelt fresh but the weather was humid and he squirmed uncomfortably as he felt the hot air slap him in the face. His eyes darted around the edges of their island and he walked rapidly around it until he found Raven, sitting all by herself, doing nothing but staring out towards Jump City. The sky was bright blue and there was not a cloud in sight, it was quite ironic how _happy _the weather seemed to be feeling in contrast at how he was feeling today, he, in all honesty, was feeling like quite a jerk—not even a funny jerk!—a mean jerk.

"I had a feeling you'd come down here sooner or later." He heard her sigh but she still looked towards the city instead of at him.

He walked slowly towards her, his footsteps taking their time as they trudged up to the edge of their quaint little island, before sitting down next to her. They sat quietly for a while, appreciating their surroundings, taking in the smells, the sights and just the sheer atmosphere of the place they called home. He looked at her for a while and wondered why she smiled rarely, she had one of those faces that looked even prettier when she smiled, it was just one of those faces made for a smile.

Garfield grimaced.

Last night was a bit…hazy to say the least…he remembered bits and pieces of it; the club, the trance music—which, the song 'Discoteka' wasn't fully out of his head yet—the girl, the brief make out session, but the thing he remembered most was the conversation he had with Vic after his best friend had picked him up from God knows where. Vic had wanted to know what the hell was going on with him and why he had been acting all weird ever since they were attacked by Brother Blood, and Garfield couldn't think of anything—in his completely alcohol-induced mind—else other than the truth of why he behaved like that, why his mind was going a bit crazy and why he had the nerve to go out drinking on a weeknight knowing fully that if Dick found out, he would be berated for both going out on a weeknight and for the underage drinking.

He sighed.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_BB, lemme ask you one more time," Vic said from beside him, his one hand on the steering wheel and the other pointing accusingly at Garfield, "What the hell were you thinkin', man? It's a fuckin' Wednesday! You don't drink on a Wednesday…hell you're not supposed to drink at all!"_

_Garfield groaned and massaged his forehead with his fingers, "Not my fault! You were the one who introduced me to alcohol!" He exclaimed croakily._

_Vic grimaced and took a sharp turn, "I'm bein' serious, ya lil' green stain, what the hell?"_

"_I wasn't thinking, OK? Happy?" Garfield gritted his teeth and found the sound of his teeth grounding enjoyably distracting, "I didn't think. I just thought, 'Fuck it, I have to get out of the tower.'"_

"_Why, though, B? You can be stupid sometimes but not _this _stupid."_

"_Hey…I'm not—look pretty colours!—stupid…I'm just…" he giggled, "I'm just…just completely shattered." He giggled once more and started poking Vic._

_Bright lights appeared in front of Garfield's eyes, dancing mischievously as he tried to grab them with his bare hands. He shook his head as he tried to regain sobriety and looked at Vic._

"_Vic I blew it." He said finally._

_Vic looked him right in the eye without even lifting his hand off the steering wheel, "I know man, you said that before…but what the hell does it mean?"_

"_I just…" Garfield heaved a sigh as a shot of pain went straight to his brain, "Raven…you know? Have you realised how amazing she is? She has the…" he yawned, "the prettiest eyes…" He trailed off._

"_No…I…uh…didn't notice, man. Don't spend that much time looking at her…uh…eyes."_

"_Well…you should Vic…they are the…they are like…like…you know when the sun is all shimmery and purple-like, dude? Like that, y'know? Like…the sunrise…but better…"_

_Vic erupted with laughter, "So this is about Raven? Man, I _knew _there was something goin' on between you two! I _knew _it!" His laughter dissipated after a while, "But…when?"_

"_Nothing's happened, Vic old buddy, nothing's happened…and nothing will probably happen…she probably hates me or somethin' like that." Another yawn._

"_No, I meant when did you like her?"_

_Garfield shook his head and closed his eyes, his back leaning on the seat, "I dunno…I just think…there's always been something there, y'know? Like…maybe I've only started, like, liking her recently but there's just always—don't you know?—like a connection…like this common understanding between us two that just made it…click…even if she hated me for whatever reason…it was always…there." He smiled at that conclusion he just made and began whistling the tune to Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual Healing'._

"_That's deep, man, especially fo' someone like you, green bean." He grinned, "So…whatcha do that made it all screwed up?"_

"_Our…relationship, if you can call it that, has never been…well…" He yawned and pinched himself to try to keep himself awake, "stable. I…" he tried to stop himself from getting distracted by how the T-car's stereo was glow in the dark in the coolest blue colour, "Vic, have you ever noticed how your car gets all…_shiny…_and…_blue_...in the dark?"_

"_Yea, kinda coz I was the one who fuckin' installed it!" Vic scrunched up his normal brow and his mechanical brow together, "C'mon Gar, concentrate…how'd you screw it up?"_

"_It's never been stable and it probably will never be stable. We'll never get along…completely." He pondered on this thought for a moment, "But…"_

"_But?"_

"_She's always been there for me and last night…well she told me that she looked at my bank account documents." He sneaked a look at Vic and saw him grunt, "Well…I kinda flipped…and then she kinda flipped…then I just went off…I was just…I guess…overreacting."_

"_Damn straight, you were overreacting! You never even told _me _that you had that kinda money and I'm your best friend!"_

_Garfield grinned sheepishly then looked down on the floor of the car, feeling the guilt swell up in his chest, "Well…I didn't really want anyone to know, dude, I just thought telling you guys about the money would be a bit awkward…I mean…_I _didn't know I my parents had this kind of money until I turned eighteen…well I did, kinda, but not _this _much." He scratched his ears and heaved a sigh, "I just didn't know how to tell you guys that I was rich because my parents are…" He didn't have to continue for Vic to know what he was talking about._

"_But we know about it…I mean about your parents passin' away…dude…we're your friends…you gotta trust us more. Your parents may be…gone…but we're family, man. I mean we've all lived with each other for four years, puttin' up with the same old shit for four years and you still think we'd treat you differently because of some money you inherited? I mean, c'mon, man, _Raven _is the daughter of Trigon and we don't hate _her_."_

"_Yea…but—"_

_Vic shook his head, "No buts, I forgive you for not tellin' me bout your money and shit but I won't forgive you if you don't make things right with Raven. You gotta treat Raven right, man, you know how she is, she has a hard time just openin' up to people coz of her childhood and all."_

"_I _know _that Vic…I just don't think…"_

_Vic didn't turn to look at Garfield and he continued to keep his concentration forward, "_Stop _thinking, Gar, this is the one time when I think that you shouldn't think at all…just _do_. Go find her tomorrow morning, apologise and if you think you've got a shot with her, go for it. Man, you must really like her if you're gettin' all worked up bout it, I've never seen you like this before."_

"_I…"_

"_Now that's settled…so tell me…what did the chick you made out with look like?"_

_Garfield's eyes widened, "What chick? There was no chick. I just drank and went out."_

"_Lies." Vic grinned and pointed at Garfield's cheek, "You have a lil' somethin' somethin' there. So, was she hot?"_

_His hands shot up to his cheeks and he rubbed it vigorously, trying to figure out what his best friend was talking about. He took his hand away from his face and gazed at it for a while, it seemed a bit…reddish…like…lipstick. He squeezed his hands together and hoped the mark would disappear. _

_This was so not a good way to start trying to figure out how to apologise to Raven._

* * *

"So…" He started and kept his gaze firmly on her face.

She didn't reply and kept looking out across the ocean as it sparkled beautifully, flecks of light bouncing off it creating a sapphire-like surface. He sighed and leant his head on a fist, pondering on whether or not to say anything or to wait for her to reply to his horrible start to the apology.

"I'm _really _sorry about the way I acted last night…I totally overreacted and I know you have a right to know about my financial situations and shit but…Raven…" He licked his dry lips nervously.

Raven's voice came out suddenly, like a sharp needle penetrating the skin without any warning, "I don't even know why you bothered coming down here, Logan, it's not like I have anything to say to you since you…_berated_…me for not respecting your _privacy_."

So…she wasn't really in the mood to say anything to him, was she?

He shuddered at her tone, it was ice cold and unfeeling and he was too nervous to try to pick up her scent to indicate what she might be feeling.

"I'm…I swear, Raven, I know I'm wrong and I'm sorry…I really am sorry…I swear from now on you can read all my mail and stuff, I won't stop you—"

"I don't want to read your fucking mail, Logan, personally I don't really want anything to do with you. Not now, not ever."

"So, why haven't you gone yet?"

She clutched at her knees and he noticed that the light reflected on her hair, making the dark violet strands seem even more vibrant, "Because I wanted to see if you had anything to say for yourself…anything less shallow than what you had just said…but apparently, you do not."

"Aw, c'mon Rae…I'm trying my best here! What else am I supposed to say!?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Now go fuck off to whatever form of entertainment you were participating in before you even bothered to come down here."

"No."

She turned to look at him for the first time since he sat down next to her and her glare pierced through him viciously; those violet eyes hard with a combination of hurt and pride. From just that one look, he could see why Arella had named her for the black bird; she had a certain fierceness to her that just screamed independence and there was a certain knowingness in her effervescent eyes that made him want to shy away from her. She seemed intimidating at that very moment but he knew for a fact that she wasn't always like this, it was her shield, her shell, the thing that she knew wouldn't let anyone get near her, let anyone know that she was at the mercy of her Emotions.

"No?"

"I'm not leaving you 'til you forgive me."

She crossed her arms, "And if I don't ever forgive you? What will you do then?"

"Well, I'll follow you around until you forgive me…you wouldn't like that, would you?" He said half-threateningly.

"Right…" Her brows arched, "What if I decided to go off to another dimension for a while? What about then?"

"I'd follow you." He said, full of confidence, "I don't know how I'd do it, but I'd do it. Now are you going to listen to me or not?"

She sat silently and didn't reply to his question so he presumed that she was going to listen to whatever he was going to say.

"As you probably already know…my parents…" he hesitated but was determined to continue, "passed away…" he stopped, "a long time ago back when we were in Africa. They were caught in a storm and the boat they were on couldn't…" he inhaled sharply, "handle it…so they…"he abruptly looked up at her and shook his head slowly, "I could've _saved _them Raven…with what I could do…I could…" Garfield's voice wavered and his mouth refused to omit the words he was trying to say.

He gripped his wrist tightly and he could feel Raven's gaze on him even though he was gazing at the ocean, taking in the vastness and how deep it must be with all the life under it and the—he realised just then and moved away from the water slowly—death. The water looked so clear and beautiful but he knew…he knew…that it had a life of its own that Garfield was destined never to understand. It was so peaceful at times but at others…it was so violent…angry, he shuddered at the thought, and…destructive.

"Anyway…they were bio-chemists and the reason that I am…" He looked at his two green palms and flexed his fingers idly, "this. It was to save me from Sakutia…the disease I caught when we were in Africa…and the cure they gave me made me green and caused my DNA to be unstable—that's why I can turn into animals—and I didn't know it back then…hell, I didn't know it 'til I turned eighteen…but they were working on some top secret research that I guess was really important and all…and…so they were insured for quite a bit of money and they were earning a lot too…I'm not sure of the exact figures…and…that's how I came about the money, I guess…it was in their will and all…" He hung his head and sighed.

He looked at her briefly before looking back down again, "To be honest with you…I don't want the money…I never wanted it. Galtry wanted it though." He snorted dryly, "I usually throw away the mail that comes from those accounts…I never even open them." He gave her a sad smile and her eyes softened, "It's like…" he squinted up to look at the equally bright sky, "if I open them and see how much I _do _have then it's like they weren't only my parents before they…" he faltered, "…they were also these bio-chemists with this project that earned them a lot of money and they had another life before me than just being my parents. You probably think I'm being stupid and all because _of course _they had another life apart from the one I was involved in but…they were the only things I had."

There was a light touch on his shoulder, so light that he could barely feel it, but he knew that it was Raven's way of telling him that she understood. He tucked his knees under his arms' embrace and gritted his teeth.

"Like I said…Galtry wanted it…I could've given it to him of course since I didn't want anything to with the money but…these were my parents; my mum…my dad…the money…this was all I had left of them…this _was _them. The money wasn't money anymore, it was more than that…and it just didn't feel right to give it away. That's why I haven't spent a dime from that account…it would be like giving my parents away and that would be…" Once again, the words were caught up in his throat, "And when I realised that…when I realised that I thought of the money in terms of _being _someone instead of something, it made me realise that maybe…just maybe…you guys would see it that way to…but instead of it being my parents…it would be me…and you guys would see me differently." He put his hand up as if to stop her from saying anything, "I know you guys say that you won't, since Dick has a lot of money but everyone treats him the same, but it's different…we're in completely different situations…in terms of where our money comes from. I don't want it to be like that Rae…" He added softly, "I don't." He suddenly laughed, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this…it probably won't make that much of a difference but…even if I never have your forgiveness…I just want you to understand that…the reaction I had last night from the fact that you looked at my stuff…that…that was me but it…it wasn't me. It was just…it felt like once you saw that money, you had looked into my life…that very small piece of my life that I try to keep away from everyone else…the piece that keeps me from constantly being happy…the piece which makes me lapse into emotional moments where I just can't get out of bed even if I wanted to."

The touch was firmer on his shoulder now and he looked at her, not expecting to see her violet eyes gazing back at his, "I understand."

He clutched at his face to prevent the inevitable tears from coming, "I miss them."

She nodded in understanding and pursed her lips. He knew that she didn't have any idea on what to say to him after his heart-felt confession but he also knew that she was trying her hardest to comfort him; the hand was more than enough.

"The money…when the time is right…I'll let it go. I don't need that kind of money…one day…I dunno…I'll give it to charity…make an orphanage maybe…I like kids." He knew he was blabbing in between tears but he couldn't help it, he had to say something before they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence like they always seem to do, "I…"

There was just something in that moment that they shared that made him continue to speak; he knew that if it was with anyone else, he would've probably shut up by now but with Raven everything was always different.

"I…you know I don't like secrets, right?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"I never really liked keeping that money secret…I'm guessing you've seen the last account?"

She nodded.

"It has the least amount of money right? Do you wanna know where I got _that _money from?"

He watched her intently as she seemed to consider this for a moment before replying, "It's your choice, Garfield. I respect your privacy wholly now and as I said before…I'm sorry for getting so worked up about it last night." Her voice was throaty and low and it stirred something in him.

"I'm sorry too…if you'll accept my apology." He laughed and attempted to wipe at his wet cheeks and he saw her give him the smallest nod, "Do you know what I want to be when, if, I ever grow out of _this_?" He asked, referring to their job as superheroes.

She shook her head.

"Even if you thought you knew…you'd probably say that I wanted to be a zoologist and work with animals…and you'd be right…but that's my second choice…well borderline first now…but my first passion was always acting. I loved to act…ever since Rita made us watch those movies; I've just been amazed at how they could be so…_different_…in each and every role they played." He grinned sheepishly to himself, "I _did_ get an acting gig after I left the Doom Patrol and before I joined the Teen Titans…it was cancelled though after one season."

"You did?" Her brows quirked clearly amused at his admission.

"I did." His grin grew wider, "It was quite embarrassing though…I had to prance around in a silver spandex suit with a cape for _ages_."

"I would've liked to see that." The edges of her lips twitched, "What was the series called?"

He looked at her sideways sheepishly, "'Space Trek 2022'. I was the little green guy with the pointy ears…obviously."

He saw her lips form into a smile…a real smile—albeit she still didn't show her teeth—and he smiled at the thought too. It had been quite an experience working on set and on a sci-fi series! It was too bad that the show was cancelled, he quite liked it, but then again, he thought, if it wasn't cancelled he wouldn't have found the Titans…his family, his home.

"And here I thought you were going to name an impressive TV show." The smile was still there and her fingers were tracing circles in the moss that clung on the rocks.

He chuckled, "I knew you were gonna say that. It was...amazing being on set…the sheer thrill of it just made my day, every day. I mean, I wasn't paid too much but it was enough for a runaway kid to live on."

He edged in closer to her and if she noticed, she didn't say anything. He bit his lip, now was probably not the best time to tell her since she'd probably walk off all worked up again but he didn't know when else he could tell her…it was sink or swim, do or die.

"Raven…?"

Her eyes were glazed sleepily and the mesmerising smile was still there, "Mmmm…?" She mumbled.

"There was a point to all this you know…the whole speech…the random bit at the end about Space Trek…there was a point." He whistled idly as a breeze swept by them suddenly.

Raven looked at him, her smile soft, "There was? And here I thought that it was just your really weird attempts to get me to forgive you."

"Well…" he grinned and traced a smiley face on the rocks they were sitting on, "it was. But there's more…_way _more."

"Hmmm…"

He touched her fingers lightly then moved his hand back onto his own lap. There was the comfortable silence that seemed to constantly blanket them when they struck up a conversation; it was tradition, he pondered.

"Do you know why I was so pissed off at you when you told me you'd read it?"

"You said that I was invading your privacy…" Her voice had a strange stiffness to it when they had come back to this particularly uncomfortable topic.

"You're half right…I…" he looked up and saw a bird soaring through the air, "I was pissed that you were invading my privacy but if it was only that I probably wouldn't have gotten so worked up about it. Really, I was pissed coz you were—you are—the person I trust most…Vic may be my best friend but some things are better left unsaid to him…but you…I just know that I can tell you anything and nothing I said when we talked would come out of your mouth to anyone unless I told you that you could tell other people. I don't know how I know, but I just know and the fact that you—the person I trust the most—looked at my things without my consent made me angry, it was like you shattered my whole trust in that one action, like I didn't know if I could trust the one person I trusted the most anymore…but…"

"But…?"

"But…I was wrong…I can still trust you and I hope I will still continue to…" He smiled wistfully, "The money…" he quickly changed the subject, "it reminds me that I have to take every day as the last…to..." he struggled to find the right words, "carpe diem, as they say. To appreciate the things I have in life, the love the people around me and to never back down from a challenge…I hope that my parents are proud at how I live now…and I know that we never get along and we'll probably never get along _completely_ but…"

He looked at her and found that her expression was that of someone who saw an arrow coming towards them but didn't know how to avoid it. He took in her scent as the breeze wafted it towards him and he noted—with his heart beating two million miles per hour—that she was nervous too.

"I've always thought that we had this…_thing_…" he struggled to describe it to her, "this connection…an unspoken bond that just _was_. I'd like to think that we're pretty good friends but I can't be so sure myself since the only interactions we seem to have is when we argue or when we're in a strange but _really _comfy silence. But…I dunno…" he brushed a strand of her dark hair away from her face and gulped, "I think…I think…"

She was watching him intently, he realised, every little thing about her was concentrated on him, like he was the only thing there, like the scorching sun didn't exist, the glittering sea was obsolete and the warm breeze that caressed both of them had stopped. Her eyes bored into his, as if trying to figure out what he was trying to tell her but there was also that uncertainty in her that made her move a bit further away from him.

"I think…I mean…don't take this the wrong way or whatever…I swear to God that it isn't a prank." He sighed and noted that she was biting her lower lip subconsciously, "I think…" finally he shook his head as if trying to get rid of all the anxiety and adrenaline that was in him and just _say _it, "I think I like you…a lot."

With that said, time seemed to stop—and it could've literally stopped, he thought idly, if Raven had willed it—and it seemed like there was nothing around them; it was just Raven and Beast Boy…Raven Roth and Garfield Logan…Rae and Gar. There was no sound, it was just silence, and both figures completely ignored their surroundings; it was like they were on a blank piece of paper in the middle of nowhere with nothing else in sight. He couldn't read the expression on her face, it was just so contorted but at the same time it was just so…blank. He realised he couldn't hear anything except for the extremely loud pounding in his hears that he suspected was his heart beat…or an incredibly bad aftermath of the drinking he did last night. His mouth felt dry and his hands felt clammy, he didn't know what they were both waiting for but he knew that they were both waiting for something to happen or something to interrupt the weird feeling between the two.

He cursed himself for telling her and wanted to swallow up every single word he had just said, she was probably going to ignore him for the rest of her life, now, or even worse just pretend like it never happened. What the hell was he thinking anyway, telling her like that? This was Raven he was talking about, not some random girl he met out at night…_Raven_! She was probably going to hate him now…or…or…be civil to him! She was probably going to end up being _nice _to him and that—though it sounded tempting in his head—wasn't right…it just wasn't the natural order of things. No…he wasn't going to let her be civil to him…he was just going to take whatever he had just said back and everything would be fine but…but he realised that he didn't want to take those words back, that he would be lying if he told her that he was just joking and that he didn't fancy her at all.

He _really _hated lying.

Garfield did the only thing that he knew would gain a reaction from her and edged ever so slightly closer to her so that there was only a finger's distance left between them. She didn't move away from him and her breathing turned slightly heavier. He brushed his hands gently through her hair while tucking in some stray hairs behind her ears and brushed her cheeks ever so lightly causing her to exhale loudly and her eyes to widen at the touch of his skin on hers. He had _no _idea if she liked him back or not but he knew to a certain extent that she was affected by his actions and whether that was good or bad, he didn't know. Finally, he brushed his lips gently against her cheeks and stood up suddenly before walking away from her and entering back into the tower, leaving her by herself, her fingers touching the parts that he had touched.

He closed his eyes for a short period of time while he continued his walk through the corridors and pondered on what had happened between them. It was sudden, he knew, but he hoped that it had a lasting impression on her, he hoped he would get an answer soon even if he didn't ask for one. He paused for a while, his whole body leaning on the wall, and thought…_really _thought on why he had done what he had done and came out with a surprising conclusion; he was going to let her be for a while and try not to piss her off even further, let her ponder on her own thoughts and worries, take in consideration the kiss he gave her and then…he sighed…and then she would decide whether or not she hated him or she liked him. Either way, it dawned on him, he'd let her take as long as she wanted and not bug her even though he knew very well that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything—well, he never really concentrated on anything, anyway—his heart would practically jump out of his chest every time he saw her, his hands would get clammy around her, he's probably start choking on his food at the mere sound of her footsteps and he would stay away from her even though all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss those pretty eyes of hers.

But he would wait…he would wait.

**A/N: So...?? Tell-eth me what you think and review, please? And I swear, if there are like loads of grammar/spelling/anything that just does not make sense at all, PLEASE forgive me since I kinda wrote this chappie half asleep...but I swear I DID give it my best!!**

**Review please? Thankiess!!**


	18. Tea

**A/N: Wow...thanks for everyone who loved my previous chappie...I didnt know how to keep up that quality of writing since I became a bit self conscious and paranoid that this chapter wouldn't be as good but then I thought that every chapter was different and so it didn't really matter.**

**The tea is symbolic, what it symbolises depends on you, I myself have my own opinions about it.**

**Hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it!**

**Chapter 18**

The tea was hot.

She stirred it with the teaspoon she had hastily grabbed from one of the cupboards and blew into it to try to cool it down. Today she was going to drink green tea…_extremely _thick green tea, so bitter that it was crazy but the calming properties was much needed, she thought as she continued to stir the tea in a clockwise direction, it was much needed. She needed to think, and she needed a clear head to think, so the tea seemed to be the obvious choice; it had always helped her before and she hoped that he favourite beverage would help her now.

Her hand stroked the tea cup gently and she didn't even flinch when she found that it was still so hot that if she didn't take her hand away from it the moment she came in contact with the cup her fingers would've been burnt off by now. OK, that was a bit hyperbolic but it was what it was…just like…

She shook her head.

No matter what she did, no matter how distracted she seemed to be, her thoughts constantly drifted off to think about a certain green team mate and what he had said to her a couple of days ago—four days ago to be exact—and even the fact that her room was almost done—well, the actual half of the building had been restored but the security and the furniture hadn't, so yes, she was still sleeping in the Common Room—couldn't take her attention to those very simple words; _I like you_.

What was it with those words? Why did it bother her so much? After all, they were only three measly words that, if taken a certain way, could just mean that he liked her in a friendly way. A friendly way, right, that was right, he was only being friendly…only apologising for the way he acted only…

She faltered and stopped stirring her tea.

…it couldn't have been that he was saying it in a friendly way, she _felt _it…it was there. Amidst the nervousness, the fear, the confusion, the regret and the sincerity emanating from him like a hot beacon, there was the affection, hidden under the mass of all the emotions he was portraying. It was there—there was no denying it—it was there! He _liked _her, and in _that_ way…it made her extremely happy but it was…unnerving…she didn't know what to do or what to say anymore, especially around _him_.

_Maybe _if she was one of the protagonists in a chick flick then she'd be falling into his arms straight away and then they'd have a completely happy ending with no doubts or fears about their future at all, but this was not a movie, and nor was she one of those stereotypical chick flick heroines; she wasn't perky and happy and neither did she find dependency on a guy appealing, and, she realised, she didn't know if she was ready for a relationship, with anyone, let alone someone like Garfield.

But _was_ he offering her a relationship?

Raven picked up the spoon and started stirring again.

He wasn't…_really_. He was just stating his feelings towards her, feelings that unbeknownst to him, were mutual. Maybe he didn't expect a relationship, maybe he thought that she didn't like him back and that he was just relieving himself of the burden of a hidden crush, she could see him doing that; Garfield was an emotional character, someone who kept his heart constantly on his sleeve for all the world to see and someone who was probably not used to carrying secrets in his chest; his confession about his parents and his money proved that. He needed closure with his problems, he needed to face them, unlike Raven who could go on and on trying to avoid the problems as long as she wanted, until it was all pent up inside and ready to explode, but she never let it, there were always more problems that she piled on top of the old ones, hoping that one day they would all decay and disappear. Of course, it hadn't so far, but she could keep hoping.

Sigh.

On the other hand, he didn't know that she liked him back, just as strongly, maybe, but yes, she liked him back. He was _everywhere_, it didn't help that they lived in the same place, and it also didn't help that she was an empath, it made her even more aware of his presence; she could feel his emotions hanging in the air, his voice was never far, his dreams were open to her unless she stopped them from entering her mind and she could feel traces of him even if he wasn't there, what he was doing, what he was eating…her empathic powers caused her to be able to mimic exactly what he did in those places and it _really _didn't help.

_If _she told him that she liked him back, it would most probably lead to him asking her out on a date or two—no matter how awkward it would be—before they would agree to be an 'official' couple and before long they would talk about commitment, maybe even marriage and even kids and…

Her hands stopped as she realised that she was stirring the tea too quickly, that some of the tea was spilling out due to the sheer force of the spoon beating against the dark green liquid.

Was she prepared for all that? Was she, really? She hadn't even finished coming in terms with her own self, her own identity that no longer consisted of just being a portal, and now she was thrust into the prospect of a relationship, albeit with someone she liked a lot. So…the question remained, was she ready and if she was what was she to do?

Her fingers held the spoon daintily now and starting stirring the tea again in an 'eight' figure, slowly this time, as not to spill anymore of her tea.

Last night, she had finally told Kori what had happened between her and Garfield after Kori had confessed that she had sensed some tension between the two…not exactly tension, but some strange feeling that hung in the air…an unspoken conflict of some sorts. She was delighted of course, as always, and saw the events as something positive, something that would grow into something _more_.

She sighed.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Raven walked slowly towards the kitchen, hoping for some hot tea to calm her senses before she was bombarded by an alien figure, an extremely strong alien figure, who knocked her down on the floor. The alien figured smiled apologetically and Raven grumbled under her breath, muttering about floating people who didn't see where they were going. Of course, the alien was extremely hurt by these words._

"_Raven!" She cried, "Why must you always be so cruel? Is it not in your best interest to please your friends, as I constantly try to do?"_

_Raven sighed and scrunched her brows together, "I'm sorry Kori, I'm just _really _not in the mood for anything right now."_

"_Does it have something to do with our dear friend Garfield?" Kori giggled and hid her laugh behind a delicate hand._

"_Why is it that every time I have a problem, you always presume that it has to do with Garfield?" She shook her head and placed a fist on her hip stubbornly, "I could be having PMS or something, you know, something _other _than problems with Garfield."_

_Kori frowned and bit her lip, "I do not know…it is just that these past couple of days there has been something slightly…peculiar between the two of you." She suddenly perked up as if she knew the answers to everything, "It is like…you do not do the tedious bantering that the rest of us are so used to hearing and you were…civil…to each other. You are both like the chalk and the cheese, yes? Yet you have not made any unkind remarks about each other." Kori shrugged, "It is peculiar…most peculiar. So, I repeat my question, do you, friend Raven?"_

_She sighed in reply and looked at nothing in particular for a while, gazing at the grey walls of the corridors; boring and dull, but simple and predictable…she liked predictability and stability…she didn't really like…whatever she had gotten herself into. A sigh escaped her lips once more and she leaned against the wall opposite the one she was staring at, Kori, on the other hand, just looked amused at her best friend's state of dishevelment._

"_It seems that is _does _concern our dear friend Garfield…what has he done this time?"_

_Raven shook her head, "Nothing…not really…well…"_

"_Well, sister? What is it?" Kori smiled encouragingly, "You look like you are choking on a zorkaberry pie…I know there is something wrong, sister, please place your trust into my hands…I would not tell boyfriend Dick if you will not allow it…though I do not know if he already knows…the bond allows you to connect minds, yes?"_

"_Yea…but only if I allow him to…I could block him from my mind but…"_

"_But…?"_

"_But I've just been too distracted to probably even _know_ if he's tried poking at my brain…so maybe he does know…" she shrugged like it didn't matter, and for now, it didn't really, she suspected everyone in the tower knew of the little dance that she and Garfield had partaken in recently._

"_Yes, but know _what_, friend Raven?" Kori looked hurt, her lower lip thrust out, "You would willingly let boyfriend Dick discover your secret and not tell it to me, your own dear sister?"_

_Raven shook her head; could she trust Kori? Well of course she could, she thought frustratingly to herself, she was her sister, the only other female in her life apart from her mother that she let get close to her. Terra…Terra tried but obviously her intentions weren't entirely sincere and so Raven was never close to her…not that she really wanted to be close with Terra anyway, she always knew that there was something a bit _off _about her. However, right now, that wasn't the problem; the problem was whether or not she was to tell Kori. On one hand Kori was one of the only ones she trusted in her life but on the other hand…_

_She blinked._

…_at that moment she realised there was no 'other hand'. She was just making excuses because…if she told someone else then Garfield's confession would be _real _and Raven wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet._

"_I…" She started and before she knew it, it all came pouring out, every single detail of their interactions; from their nights together watching old movies, to the time she meditated in his room—not to mention his abs!—to her worry when he got a concussion, to their first kiss, to his confession and to their second kiss. She couldn't help herself, it was all just there, waiting to be told, and though she would've been perfectly content with letting it lie I hopes that the problems would disappear, Kori acted as a catalyst to her emotional explosion, "And now…now…I don't know what to do…Kor…I…" Her voice faltered._

_Kori took her hand in her own and squeezed it gently, "This is not really a problem with Garfield, is it friend Raven? It is merely a conflict of your thoughts and emotions…our body switching experience taught me that your powers and well-being depend on these emotions and I believe that suppression is not the answer to your situation. You must let it all out, friend Raven." She dragged her off the wall so that they could walk side by side idly through the corridors, "So…you like friend Garfield, yes? In the same way, yes?"_

_She shook her head frantically in disagreement, "I…uh…of course not! Kori!" She felt red stain her pallid cheeks and took her right hand to try to hide her embarrassment, "I…"_

_Her best friend paused for a second, her lips pursed as if she was disappointed in her, "Sister…I am not as dense as I sometimes seem to be…" she shook her head as if she were repeating herself, "…what goes unsaid is usually more than what is said verbally, and you, sister, are not one for verbal communication anyway." They continued to walk, slower this time, as if their thoughts affected their pace, "So, tell me the truth friend Raven, or I will continue to press you for more information, truly Raven, can you truly say that you do not love our dear friend Garfield?"_

"_I do not _love _him!" Raven replied hotly, her grip on Kori's hand loosening, "I…may…" she hesitated, "_possibly_ like him…but not _love _him…not…yet." She grimaced and let go of Kori's hand completely, "Not…"_

"_Glorious!" Kori clapped giddily and giggled, "Glorious!" She repeated, her melodic voice chiming like bells._

"_Glorious?" Raven was a tad bit confused._

"_Yes!" Kori squealed and embraced her, "Glorious! You have confessed, friend Raven, you have confessed!" She squeezed her harder and Raven struggled to breathe, "This is the first step towards a confession to Garfield…and before long, dear friend, before long you will have joined hearts and will be doing the delightful dating…just like boyfriend Dick and I!"_

_Raven sighed, Kori just did not understand! Yes, she did like Garfield back but she just wasn't totally sure what to do…_

"_You will tell him, yes?" Kori asked her beseechingly._

_She frowned for a millisecond before smiling once again but Kori didn't miss that frown, instead she lifted an eyebrow questioningly._

"_You will not tell him?"_

"_I…I'm not sure _what _to tell him…if I _do _tell him something…"_

_Kori flicked a stray red hair out of her face and huffed in frustration while Raven smiled sheepishly; was it wrong that she wasn't sure what to do? It _was, _after all, her first _real _experience with guys…_

"_It is simple!" Her voice was raised now, "Friend Raven, I told you to see and now you have seen…now I tell you to speak and you cannot even do that? It is not _right _to miss an opportunity such as this; he likes you and you like him and with time…if you let it…it will be something even more than it is now…it may even blossom to transform into love…" _

_Raven remained silent and looked down at the floor, Kori was passionate, yes, but not _this _passionate, she had never seen her _this _enthusiastic for something that didn't even concern her. _

"_And love, friend Raven, is marvellous…" those words rolled out of her mouth fluidly, "who in this terran world or in any other, pray tell me friend, will ever and has ever passed out on an opportunity for love?" She scrutinised her a bit and sighed, "Many, yes, to my knowledge, many but you are brave, Raven, courageous, and someone who owns these qualities deserves love…no…" Kori shook her head, "_demands _it…and Garfield understands you so…"_

_Both girls stood still in silence, looking at each other as if trying to figure out what the other was thinking, trying to see if they were thinking along the same lines as each other and thinking on whether—well _Kori_ was thinking this, anyway—their efforts were wasted, when Raven thrust her arms around her best friend and just hugged her silently, hoping that whatever she was trying to say—she wasn't too sure herself what she was trying to say—was said in that single action. Raven laughed inwardly as she felt Kori tense then relax, indicating that the Tamaranian wasn't expecting the hug either. _

_She felt a hand stroke her hair, "You will do what you think is best, friend Raven?"_

_Raven released her friend from the embrace and shrugged, a small smile appearing fleetingly on her lips, "I don't know…I don't know what is _'best'_…but I'll do what I think is right." She laughed quietly at that statement._

_They walked side by side, strolling through the corridors aimlessly without destination and just talked…about anything really…Raven smiled as Kori's eyes lit up when she was talking about her future plans with Dick, she was glad to have a friend that cared for her so much._

* * *

Before Raven knew it, she had abandoned the tea and strode out of the kitchen, her footsteps full of false determination…she was determined all right but she wasn't _sure _yet…but she had to find _him_.

She had to!

Her pace grew quicker, her breathing shallower, she looked left and right to see if he was there but she couldn't find him. Maybe she should've stayed in the kitchen, she thought to herself, maybe she shouldn't have gone out of the kitchen after all. Raven clutched at her sides, hoping that she looked composed and proper, not like the frantic feeling that was broiling inside of her though Raven doubted that she looked well and sane; she hadn't gone out of the tower since the incident and she had grown paler since, she was sure of it. She paused for a second and tried to see her reflection in the window, as hazy as it may be, it was no good going off to talk to Garfield looking completely dishevelled and in need of psychiatric attention. Her hands moved quickly to rake her hair neatly and to dust off anything unsightly off her clothes.

She shuddered and continued to pace the corridors, her steps getting lighter as impatience grew in her chest. That in itself was strange, she wasn't an impatient person, she had never been impatient in her life and now she was impatient to face a situation that she had no idea what the outcome would be, and that made her smile as she remembered Kori's words from last night.

Suddenly she spotted Dick and Vic walking towards her, chatting away avidly as if they were talking about the most important thing in the world, which knowing the boys, would have something to do with their GameStation. She rolled her eyes at her thought but then shook it away as she remembered why she had left the kitchen in the first place and rushed towards her two team mates as amusement etched itself on both their faces.

"In a hurry somewhere, Raven?" Dick asked, her brow rising questioningly.

Raven smiled hastily and shrugged, "As a matter of fact, I _am_." She clenched her fists and bit her lower lip, "Have any of you guys seen Garfield?"

"Gar?" Vic's voice had a questioning tone to it but at the same time there seemed to be some sort of knowledge in his eyes, as if he understood something that she didn't, "What d'ya want with him fo'?"

"None of your business. So seriously, have you guys seen him?"

The guys exchanged a look with each other and for a second there, Raven realised that they knew, at least partially anyway. She was sure that Robin knew of her feelings towards Garfield through their bond or through Kori and Vic knew that Garfield liked her because, well, they_ were_ best friends. Raven _tsk_-ed edgily and waited until one of them was prepared to answer her question; it was raining outside, she noted, or at least she thought it was raining, she could hear the slight _pitter-patter _against the tower.

"Dunno where he is right now…haven't seen him since breakfast. You, Dick?" Vic cocked his head at Dick and the team leader shrugged.

"Nope…haven't seen him either. You could go check his room, he might be…hibernating…or something."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Right…well thanks for all the help. I'll see you guys at dinner."

Raven rushed past them before they could reply phased down towards the floor below the current floor. She scurried towards his bedroom before realising that she couldn't open it without a password, well, technically she could if she phased through but after she previously violated his privacy she didn't really feel like she had the right to go barging into someone else's room, even if he _did _like her.

Her knuckles rapped on the door for a few seconds with no reply.

She knocked a second time and there was still no reply.

"Gar? Garfield? You in there?" She asked through the door, her fist constantly knocking on the metal door, "It's Raven, we need to talk."

There was still no reply; where in Azar was he? She knocked again.

"Gar…c'mon Gar, open up."

Her efforts were wasted and the door still did not move. Reluctantly she pressed her head through the door and phased through the door, guilt welling up inside of her, a cold sensation going down her spine as she was enveloped by the black energy source for a short while.

She sighed.

There was no one in the room; it was messy, she couldn't deny, but she didn't think that it was so messy that Garfield was able to hide under one of the piles of junk he had laid out on the floor. The bed seemed untouched except for a few ripples on the blanket which indicated that he didn't sleep under the sheet last night and the floor seemed to be just one massive dump; stacks and stacks of random things piled on top of each other, creating small hills. Her eyes drifted towards a small corner of his room where she spotted incense sticks, she smiled, they were still there, mostly untouched and they were kept in a clean and tidy corner. Her smile settled on her lips for a while and she wondered whether that corner was symbolic for anything or if it was just a subconscious need for at least _some _part of his bedroom to be neat.

He was not here and Raven didn't see the point in lingering here any longer, though there was some part of her that didn't want to leave this place, no matter how horrifically untidy it was. She swiftly lifted herself out of the room and phased back to the floor she was originally on.

The question came back; where was he when she actually sought him out? She looked _everywhere _already, everywhere inside the tower. Unless…

"Shit…why didn't I think of that before?" She muttered angrily to herself.

Unless he was on the roof…it was one of his sanctuaries away from everything else, she knew, and if he was anywhere, he would be there. She traipsed up the stairs towards the roof, her footsteps heaving heavily under her torso once more. Raven hoped that her suspicions were right and that he was there, she was kinda tired, and if he wasn't there—she shuddered in frustration—she would _kill _the boy before she told him what she had set out to tell him.

As she reached the top she opened the door, she used all the force she could to open the badly rusted door before she could finally open it, the left side of her that pressed against the door numb for a while. Raven was greeted by a harsh shower of range, immediately getting her whole body wet and it was cold, so very cold; the hairs on her body stood up as if trying to provide some warmth to their owner and her teeth chattered incessantly against each other. The wind blew past her angrily and her hair flew in front of her face causing her vision to waver for a few seconds. She wanted to turn back, it seemed that even the weather was against her, telling her that what she was about to do shouldn't be done and that she should just be content with the way things were. Who was she that she wanted to change their daily norm? Who was she to alter the way things had been going for years and years? Raven promptly agreed with the weather and she wanted to go back inside, to forget everything that had happened but…but…there he was, sitting at the edge of the roof, his feet dangling off it and he was just sitting there—his hands scratching at his ears absent-mindedly—thinking…

Raven walked towards him, her footsteps slower this time because of the fact that she was scared of what she was about to do and also because of the fact that the rooftop was wet and if she went any faster she might slip to her death. His figure was hunched down and those hands of his continuously scratched his pointed ears as they twitched, most probably irritated at the rain. She didn't think that he heard her, not over all the racket that the rain and the wind made, yes, she was sure that her footsteps were silent in comparison to the rain. He didn't move from his spot though, despite all the rain and the chaos, and Raven slowly, but surely, sat next to him.

He didn't seem to realise that she was sitting next to him and she smiled, "Hey…"

His ears pricked up, alert at the sound of a familiar voice and he turned quickly to face her, his green hair flattened against his forehead, "Raven…?"

"Hey…" she looked down and drew circles on the metallic roof that she was sitting on, ignoring how cold and wet she was, "I…I'm flattered."

She smiled and looked out towards the sea; the waves rolling brutally against each other, sea foam rising up towards the grey sky and the equally grey sea threatened to swallow up the shore. Her gaze turned to look at Garfield and she had to stifle a laugh to find him staring at her, flabbergasted at the couple of words that she had just said.

"Garfield, just _what _are you staring at? Have I grown horns?" She asked, her eyes rolling by reflex.

"You…you're talking to me." He shook his head before pinching himself, the expression of shock persistent.

Raven nodded slowly, "Yea…I think I noticed." Her hearts was pumping much too loud to be healthy, "I'm the daughter of Trigon, you know." She stated, knowing full well that he did indeed know.

He nodded slowly and she realised that he was shuddering, his whole body drenched from head to toe. Raven thought that she probably looked somewhat similar to him but she'd probably be less entertaining to look at...she wasn't green, after all, or good looking.

He hugged himself in what looked like an attempt to keep himself warm, "I know." He said simply, his warm breath creating smokey patterns in the air.

"I'm inconsistent, snarky, and sarcastic." She recited and she could see that he was nodding along, "My powers rely on emotions and when they're out of control…they're _out of control_ and I'm…" she shuddered at the word, "_creepy_."

"But—"

She put her hand up and shook her head, "Not done yet. My powers derive from darkness…I _am _darkness. I'm bad at socialising, I _hate _your silly pranks, I'm not the six foot supermodel that I know Kori is…I know I'm not in the least bit attractive." She heaved a sigh, "I'm uncomfortable at the prospect of _any _demonstrations of affection…um…" her mind scrambled around for anymore faults she found in herself, "I find going out of the tower for matters other than crime fighting completely unnecessary and I just _don't _see the point in spending twenty four hours on the GameStation to try to beat the record."

Uncertainty laced his eyes and he seemed to not know what to do, "I…I still like you." He shook his head and his voice was firmer this time, more confident, "You're not perfect…hell…I'm not perfect…but I still like you." He threw her a sheepish grin.

She twisted her wrists for a while before looking straight at him, her breath heavier, smoke seemingly coming out of her lips, "I'm…I…I'm not meant for emotions, you know? That's probably why the priests in Azar separated them…my emotions, I mean; they weren't always so…independent. The priests were just scared, I guess, they knew what I was…what I would be…and the fact that I was so dependent on my emotions made me even more dangerous. So…this…" she said, referring to her Emotions, "this is new to me…this whole…let me feel what I want to feel thing…I haven't gotten used to it."

Raven looked down and felt the rain beat down on her, pressing her on. She felt wet, her hair stuck onto the sides of her face and her hands were pale, paler than usual, and they were shaking—she realised—actually shaking! She had to laugh at that image—in her mind of course—she, Raven, queen of all that is control, was shivering. It was utterly and completely laughable yet it distracted her from the reason why she was here.

"My whole life, people have been scared of me, whether for being the portal, or for my parentage, my appearance or my powers…people have always been scared of me and I suspect that they always will be." She frowned at that thought and let a few minutes lay in between them as she gave more thoughts to these thoughts, "You, on the other hand, you are loved by all; the city, friends, the other Titans…by Azar the JLA _invited _you to join them! You're like…that person anyone can rely on no matter what. I mean, people _know _that you're the youngest, the most irresponsible, the most immature part of the team but _still _the people of Jump City place their trust in you. They _trust _you, Garfield, more than they will ever trust me." She smiled sadly.

"That's not true Raven…remember when everyone thought I had attacked you in my…" he shuddered, "Beast form? It took Robin _ages _to trust me again; he couldn't even look at me without flinching…I mean it was sort of a tiny twitch but I could tell…he was scared."

"That was a onetime thing…" She lowered her eyes and sighed, exhaling the breathy fog again, "People _constantly _fear me…I _know _because…well…I'm an empath…I can _feel _their fear…I can see the look in their eyes when they see me…it's like they're wondering whether I'm _really _on the good side, it's like they don't trust me, but…"

"But…?"

"But you do. I don't understand it at all but you somehow do…no matter how much I try to get rid of you, you always come back. _Always_. I don't understand where the basis of your trust but it is there and it's…_wonderful_, wonderfully refreshing." Raven closed her eyes to take in the emotions that were coming out of Garfield and she breathed them in and tucked them into a corner in her mind where she could revisit them, "And you're so…honest…you don't lie if you can help it…and I was thinking about your words…_those _words, wondering if you were lying, if this was another prank…"

Garfield shook his head, his forehead contorted, "It wasn't…Raven, it wasn't."

"I know, I know…you reek of it…like you emanate it…" she interlocked her fingers to distract herself, "I wasn't familiar with…what you were feeling…and so I ignored it because I just couldn't figure it out…but then…I realised. I thought it was impossible, of course, I mean _you_? Liking _me_? It was a bit too out-of-the-box for me, it was strange and…_new_. I always thought you liked blondes." She added as an afterthought.

She reached out with her empathic senses and grappled to find out what he was feeling, but she was a bit sidetracked by the expression on his face; it was understanding yet he seemed a bit confused, as if he didn't understand where she was getting at. She did pick out an emotion though, he felt…indignant…at the prejudiced thought that he only liked blondes.

"So…?" He asked questioningly.

Raven's heart beat loudly in her ears and despite the fact that her hands were completely wet with rain water; they felt disgustingly drenched in perspiration. She didn't even notice the cold that enveloped her, along with the wet, she was looking to see if he knew what she was talking about and she sighed as she realised that he didn't.

"What you told me that time…it made me realise that you have your darkness too but you take it in your stride, embracing it proudly and turning it into something positive, motivating you to move on with your life, no matter how long it would take. I admire you for that, I don't know if I can do it if I tried. You are one hell of a person, Garfield and you won't be hearing that again anytime soon…" She laughed softly as she watched his face turn from pride to disappointment to that of puzzlement.

"Thanks, I guess." He grinned, revealing his fangs gleaming brightly.

"And well, that connection between you and me, the one you talked about? I feel it too…it's just something that is…there, right?" He nodded in agreement, "And I agree that we will never get along, not completely anyway, we're too different to get along but…"

Garfield looked like a hungry lion, stalking his prey to see if his luck would hold out today, if he would be able to capture his feast that will satisfy his hunger. His emerald eyes gleamed sharply and droplets of water hung on his long olive eyelashes as if they were purposely placed there for some type of decoration. His lips were pursed tightly, like he was trying to stop himself from saying something, lest he interrupt her monologue and his hair was plastered on his head, turning a darker green the more it got wet.

"But…I think…" Was her heart going faster or was it just her imagination? She held onto the edge of the roof and gazed at her legs dangling below her and she realised that if she didn't say it now, she would probably never say it…ever. She bit her lower lip and clutched her wrist, twisting it idly, "I think…" She looked up and saw that his eyes hadn't left her since they had started talking, "I…well…I think…I think I like you too."

He blinked.

He blinked once more.

His jaw dropped and he was unable to say anything. His eyebrows were raised in incredulity and his ears stood still, like a prey waiting for a predator to catch him. The rain poured down even harder but they didn't notice no matter how wet they were getting, this moment was just for the two of them and the weather could turn even more chaotic for all they cared.

"Wha—what?"

Raven crossed her arms and groaned, "I am not repeating myself."

"You…y…you…are you sure this isn't a dream? Because the real Raven would never tell me that she fancied the pants off me."

"I didn't say I fancied the pants off you…merely that I liked you." Amusement danced in her eyes as he seemed to be choking on his own words.

"You like me…" He seemed to be processing the fact pretty slowly, "You…_like_…me. You like me! Oh my fucking God! You like me!" He repeated the words over and over again, trying to persuade himself that the words were true.

"Yes…no need to tell the whole world."

Garfield grinned at her direction and stood up on the edge, brushing a hand on her cheek lightly, before punching a fist in the air and shouting, "Did you guys hear!? Raven Roth likes me! _Likes _me! Me! Garfield Logan!" He shouted to no one in particular, or, she pondered as she embarrassingly watched him to continue to shout those words, to everyone…everyone in Jump City…everyone in his life.

She rolled her eyes as he sat down again, "Me telling you that I like you does not give you the right to embarrass me in front of all of Jump City."

Euphoria enveloped the green teen and he brushed her wet hair from her face, the contact of wet skin to skin causing shivers to go down her spine. He moved in closer and laid his forehead against her own, his warm breath dancing with her own ragged one. His eyes closed slowly and he smiled, a little boy's smile, before speaking.

"You know, baby doll, I could stay like this for a long time. Even if the weather _does _suck." He opened his eyes again and chuckled, his forehead still against her own.

"I guess…" There was a quaver in her voice as she realised how close he was to her, "So…what do we do now?"

Raven felt for his hand and caressed the wet, calloused skin…just touching it…before laying her hand on top of his. She closed her eyes and took in the new feeling that came into her heart…she didn't know what it was but it tickled.

"Well…we could stay like this and both catch a cold…" He laughed quietly and her eyes fluttered open once more; his eyes were so _green_, "And tomorrow I could take you out and we'll see how it goes from there…"

A smile formed on her lips and she was—dare she say it?—excited, "That would be quite…nice…" She whispered, for lack of word.

They stayed there for a long time, ignoring the weather and their location, the darkness and the violence and just leant on each other; forehead to forehead. Raven's smile grew as she realised that everyone around her was right, that _this_, whatever this was, was nice.

Back in the kitchen, the lone tea cup stood still in its own independent beauty that only a porcelain cup could retain, the teaspoon resting beside it on top of the saucer.

The tea was still hot.

**A/N: So...what did you guys think? Like it? Love it? Needs improvement? Indifferent to it? Review it of course!**

**Don't worry guys, it's not the end...though if you want it to be, you can...the next few chappies are gonna be a bit more fluffy and not as intense as the chappies I've been writing so I guess if you wanted you could categorise them as a completely differn fanfic but I don't want to end it like this...so yea...**

**But anyways, don't forget to review!**

**Lubb yoo all!**


	19. Round 1

**A/N: Finally, I've updated, though to be honest it's a bit of a mess and longer than I wanted it to be. The beginning may seem a bit awkward but it's meant to be that way, so I hope no one gets too confused. It was supposed to be mostly fluff and I was only supposed to skim through the action, but, seriously, I couldn't resist.**

**So...enjoy!**

**Chapter 19**

"Oh, dear friend, you would not be thinking of going out like that?" Kori asked her as she glanced at Raven's clothing.

Raven rolled her eyes in reply and bit her lip from reminding Kori that she didn't have the best fashion sense either, "I think I look fine, thank you very much."

She took a quick glance at herself in the mirror of Kori's room and twirled mundanely in front of it, thought in all honesty, she was…_excited_. Her fingers tugged at the ends of the blue sweater she was wearing and she made sure that her black jeans weren't wrinkled; they were shapeless but she didn't really like revealing much though ironically her legs were almost always on display…but that was different.

Kori sighed, "Sister Raven, you look like you are going to do the grocery shopping."

"I do not."

Her best friend shook her head sadly, "In all honesty, friend Raven, you do. Is it not custom to do the dressing up? Or at least…not wear something as mundane as…_this_." She shook her head once more, "Why do you not do the dressing up in the red dress, sister?"

Raven sighed and placed her hands on her hips stubbornly, "We are only going to the movies, Kor, only to the movies. He doesn't want to scare me off by bringing me to a fancy place." She smiled at that thought and closed her eyes to re-enact the scene from last night in her head.

"But…still…friend Raven…" Kori placed a hand on her shoulder and screwed her brows together, "Why is he taking you to the movies, sister? When Dick and I first started the dating, he took me to an extremely lavish food…it was a shame that they did not have any mustard."

"I told you, didn't I? He doesn't want to scare me off…plus we are not dating."

Kori's expression turned into that of pure bafflement, "You are not? I thought that you two were venturing off to the movies together today? Is that not dating, or have I been misinformed of the terran culture once more?"

"We're not dating…not yet anyway. He just asked me out on one date; that hardly qualifies as us dating."

She sighed and fidgeted with a stray thread from her sweater; she was _really _nervous, she didn't know why…it wasn't like she hadn't gone to the movies with Garfield before…but today the context was different, they were on a date. An actual date, she mused, quite amazed that she was going to go on her first date with someone very…_interesting_,to say the least. They had agreed that they would go out today and if they felt that they could make it work…make _them _work…then they would _officially _be a couple, but if they felt otherwise then they both agreed that they would remain good friends, or as close as they possibly could before venturing into dangerous zones again.

She smiled softly.

The memories from last night burned in her brain and she could remember everything, or at least she thought it was everything; the rain, the cold, their misty breath, his warm breath on her, the touch of his calloused hands, the tone of his voice when she confessed that her feelings were the same and the feeling she got when their skin touched…everything felt so intimate without the stereotypical 'couple' actions that consisted of kissing and hugging, it just felt…right.

"You are doing the smiling, it is nice to see, sister Raven." Kori smiled softly and made sure that Raven's hair wasn't a mess, "Extremely nice to see. Yet…are you sure the cold you obtained last night is not bothering you, I believe that you and Garfield stayed outside for a long time? Next time you two do the confessing, I suggest that you do it _inside_, it is just not so to have a conversation out in the rain." She paused for a while before continuing, "Did the two of you do the kissing?"

Raven felt her cheeks heat up and saw her reflection turn red with embarrassment, "No…Kori! You know what I can't figure out, why do all our conversations end up being about kissing?"

Kori shrugged and laughed, "I was just doing the wondering, it is just that you are so…_happy_. Do not deny it, sister, I may not have the empathic powers that you possess, but I can still tell." She giggled once more, "So…why did you not do the kissing?"

"I don't know…I'm not…is 'ready' the right word for it?" Raven pursed her lips, "It's just…it took us a million years just to get to this point…you know, the 'I-like-you' point, and…well…yea…" She let her words trail off as she didn't really know what to say, "I mean, yes we didn't kiss but there was just _something _there, Kor, and I want to savour that something before—no, if—we get serious."

"Will you be doing the kissing tonight?" Kori pressed on.

Just as she was able to get the red stain down, it flared once more, making herself look even more ridiculous than she currently was. She turned away from the mirror and flustered at the thought of kissing Garfield—no!—she wouldn't think of it now…she had something w_ay _more important to do, she smiled to herself and couldn't help a few giggles from escaping his lips, she had a date with Garfield Logan.

"No…uh…maybe? I don't know…I haven't really thought about it, I guess…I…Kori! You're making me nervous!" She uncharacteristically punched Kori lightly on the shoulder, "I thought this whole going on a date thing would be easy…I mean it's not like I haven't hung out with him before, right? I mean…we've had movie nights together and we always had our moments together so…it can't be that different, right?"

She realised she was blabbing when she glanced at Kori's face only to find her biting her lip so hard that if she bit any harder it would probably bleed. Her eyes were filled with amusement and her head was shaking with all the contained laughter, it would've been quite hilarious to look at if she weren't laughing at Raven.

"Raven, you should—how do you earthlings say it?—be chilling it down. The date you are venturing on will go fine, have trust in me…but more importantly, in yourself." Kori rearranged Raven's hair so that her chakra wasn't visible, though they did nothing else to conceal her identity as there wasn't that much of chance of people finding out who she was, "Love was never easy."

"I do not love him."

"So you say…" Raven watched as Kori looked at the clock in her room, "It is the clock of the four already, you should be going."

Raven bit her lip, squeezing Kori's hand tightly, "Wish me luck…?" Her voice quavered and sounded small, even to her own ears.

"You do not need it. Do not worry, sister, everything will go fine…it will be…_glorious_."

"Oh, I hope so…" She pressed a button and Kori's door opened, "Thanks Kori."

Raven stepped out of the room and into the corridors and walked towards the Common Room; they had agreed to meet each other again. It was weird, they were going to be meeting in the Common Room as they had so many more times before but this time it would be different, exceptionally different, and she didn't really know if that was a good thing or not; sure this would mean that they would officially go out on a date with each other as they both confessed that they had mutual feelings but, would the comfortableness of their strange friendship still be present? Or would it be awkward, like two completely new people meeting each other for the first time? She shook her head at the thoughts that kept bombarding her, he liked her and she liked him, it was simple, right?

Right?

Her steps grew slower as she came closer to the door of the Common Room and for a second time that week she doubted her health; why was her heart pounding so quickly? Why was her palm sweating a storm? And why the hell did she blush every few seconds? She breathed in and out slowly as she tried to regain her composure; after all, she was Raven, and Raven did _not _fluster around anyone, least of all Beast Boy.

But Garfield Logan was another matter; Garfield Logan baffled her in such a way that her English Literature assignments looked simple. He was still annoying, capable of completely infuriating her in a matter of five seconds—make that one second—but he also had the capability to make her smile, to make her laugh—albeit inwardly—to make her feel like she wasn't so alone and just to be there…he was _always _there, she realised; when she first stopped sleeping in Kori's room, when she had trouble meditating, when her Emotions became erratic in the food court…he was just there and…she wanted to make it work, she wanted to make an effort for herself for once, she wanted to—what was it that Garfield said?—carpe diem.

Her fingers pressed another button and the door to the Common Room opened and there he was; he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with Superman's insignia on it and she noted that he wore his holographic ring on his peachy finger. His green eyes were gleaming gleefully, like a little boy with his newest toy car, and he was grinning from ear to ear, though there was no fang in sight. She closed her eyes for two seconds before opening them to see him laughing.

"Raven, what was that for?"

Raven shrugged as she approached him, "Um…I don't know…just making sure, I guess." She kept her tone of voice as flat as ever, trying as ever to keep the eagerness out of her tone of voice.

His dark blond brow rose up, "You sound unsure, you backing out, babydoll? Coz, y'know, I'm not _forcing _you to go on this date with me." He smiled sincerely.

"No…" She rolled her eyes, "We got this far without me blowing you up, didn't we?" The side of her lip twitched.

"Yea…I was wondering bout that." He grinned, "I'm kidding…you wanna go now?"

"No…I'd rather go tomorrow." She said dryly, "Of course I want to go now. I've been wanting to go since—" Her hands instantly jumped to cover her mouth as she realised what she had just said, come one Raven, play it cool!

Her heart beat faster as he chuckled and she bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing, it didn't matter that they both liked each other; she wasn't ready to let her emotions go, yet…no…not yet.

They walked side by side out of the Common Room and towards the lift to go downstairs; it was an awkward walk, as if both of them were unsure on what to do or what to say…but why was it awkward for him? _He _was the one who always had it made with the ladies, she shuddered at the thought, it wasn't like this was his first date with a girl. She was wearing her superhero boots—though now they had an additional, yet very small, heel. It wasn't that much fun being short—and they seemed to be clomping much too loud for her own comfort and her breathing sounded ragged and heavy even to her own ears. Calm down, Raven, it's not like you're going to the Underworld to visit your father.

"Ladies first." He grinned and let her into the lift before him with a twinkle in his eyes, "So…er…" She realised that he was trying to make conversation, "what movie are we watching?"

She eyed him as he raked a hand through the mass of golden hair, it was brownish in the dim lights of the lift though, "I don't know…weren't you going to pick it?"

He didn't answer.

She wondered for a while why the atmosphere was awkward; it was awkward before but…before they could talk and _touch_…now it was like...strained. Why couldn't things go right?

The lift stopped at the lowest floor and they both got out, her eyes straining to see through the darkness of the place. They were underground and in search of the door that led to mainland Jump City, how else were they supposed to get out of the tower without the paparazzi chasing after them? They _were _superheroes after all…plus _Vic_ didn't think about creating a bridge above the ground so that they could get to mainland Jump City anytime they wanted to.

Garfield found the door and motioned her over, "C'mon, we'll be late for the movie at this rate."

"What movie?" She muttered under her breath, forgetting that he had sensitive hearing.

"Aw…Rae…don't be like that. We're trying…_I'm_ trying, I _do _like you baby doll."

She softened at what he said and smiled at him, a real smile…he deserved it after all.

The two of them proceeded through the dark tunnel and after a short walk they emerged once more onto the surface, sunlight blinding them both momentarily. Raven noted that the cinema was about five minutes from the place they had emerged from.

"We better hurry." She stated simply, looking up at Garfield, for the love of God when did he get so tall?

"For what? We haven't chosen a movie yet, right?" He grinned at the serious look on her face but then stopped as she realised that he noticed that she was once again fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater, "Sure…c'mon."

He grabbed hold of her hand and Raven flinched for a second and regretted it all at once as Garfield withdrew his hands from hers. They walked once more in silence, this time the awkwardness was replaced by haste, the two of them not really thinking about the atmosphere but more about just getting to their destination. Without thinking, Raven took his hand, feeling the calluses on his hand and the warmth generated by that single body part, and was a bit surprised when he stopped walking.

"You're holding my hand."

"Is that a question?" She asked, a smiled forming on her lips.

"No…" He beamed, "a statement." He started walking, slower this time so that he didn't drag her, "You flinched before when I took your hand." He added in a matter-of-factly tone.

She shrugged and her heart jumped as he gripped her hand tighter, "It was getting awkward," she replied, echoing his no-nonsense tone, "Plus we _are _on a date, don't people hold hands when they're on a date? Unless chick flicks have been _seriously _misinformed…"

He chuckled and squeezed it tighter, "I like it…and _yes _holding hands is absolutely mandatory on a first date."

"I didn't know you knew words like 'mandatory'." She smirked.

"Hey, I'm not stupid…just…thoughtless."

"I know." She smiled and wiggled her little finger in his grip, "I'm just messing with you."

She took in his emotions as he smiled again, and her heart fluttered once more; what was it with that smile, anyway? It was…different…to the one that she usually saw on him, it was like—no, it couldn't be that!—the smile was for her and for her only. Raven flustered at the thought and glanced at their hands clasped together and noticed the little details that would accompany the smile; his green eyes softened, as if in a daze, his voice would be lower and quieter, and the smile was smaller compared the one he usually flashed everywhere but it was just…nice. Her gaze settled on his lips and her cheeks reddened again, was she going to kiss him tonight? Did he expect her to kiss him? What if…? She shook her head and stopped herself from thinking any further than that, it was making her edgy and when she was edgy her powers liked to play around.

"We're here." His voice broke her reverie and he paused to look at her while pointing at the times of screenings, "What do you wanna watch?"

"Anything…I don't really mind, you _are _paying after all."

"No, seriously, you should…" She sent him a glare and he recoiled a bit, "OK, I guess it's up to me then. Mmmmm…I pick…" His gaze trailed the screening times before pausing at one of the movies, "'The Forbidden Kingdom'…it's got Jackie Chan _and _Jet Li. That's gotta be one hell of a movie, and it's on now…genius!" Garfield looked at her and his brows joined together in concern, "You _sure _you're gonna lemme choose the movie? Coz I could always settle for something like…y'know…" He glanced at the screening times once more, "'The Other Boleyn Girl'."

"Gar…" She warned.

"OK, OK…" He walked towards the cashier with his left hand still holding her own hand firmly, "Two tickets to 'The Forbidden Kingdom'."

The lady at the cashier promptly handed two tickets and they both walked hand in hand—albeit a bit hastily—towards the screen they were to watch it in. Inside, the place was dark except for the screen that was brightly lit and dancing with pictures, they had missed probably a good portion of the beginning but Raven didn't really care, she was with Garfield and that was all that mattered now.

By Azar when did she get so soppy?

He dragged her towards two seats he found quite conveniently in the back, causing Raven to consider whether or not he had planned all this. Had he? It seemed quite unlikely since he seemed to have no idea what the movie was about and she theorised that he merely chose it because the title sounded cool, and also because Jackie Chan and Jet Li were in it. Apart from Humphrey Bogart, those two were the second and third most beloved man-crushes of Garfield's life, Raven knew this because she had seen his DVD pile in his room and they were all filled with movies that contained those two actors. He could be a little obsessive sometimes…

Suddenly, she felt his hand on her own and his fingers softly stroked her knuckles; it was nice, weird, but nice. Her mind couldn't concentrate on the movie at all, not with the variety of pressures his fingers were giving the back of her hand and when her mind did decide to concentrate on watching the movie, she snorted inwardly at the ridiculousness of the whole story; what was it with adventure films and their obsession with finding 'The one', couldn't they be content with their situation…even if it _did _involve tyranny under some psychopath? Why the hell did Garfield choose this movie? Couldn't he tell that if not for his hand, she wouldn't enjoy it one bit? Raven grumbled and regretted having gotten Garfield to choose the movie…she only said it to be nice and because she didn't think she would particularly care what movie she was watching since it was inevitable that all her attention would be on Garfield and whether or not he was being serious, but…surely he had more tact than _that_?

"Hey, Rae…" She heard a voice from her left.

Raven bit her lip before replying, "Yea?"

The stroking stopped and she looked at him, his face an expression of worry and consideration, "You're not enjoying this one bit, are you, baby doll?"

"Uh…what?" Raven purposely misunderstood him, "Enjoy what?"

Raven realised that he could see her expression despite the darkness and tried to compose herself to smile, but at the sudden release of her hand, she realised that it didn't work.

"Enjoy the movie…Rae; I can smell what you're feeling." She was hit by emotions of fret and disappointment, causing her to try to emanate happiness despite what he said he smelled, "We can go if you want…"

She shook her head fervently, "No…it's not like that…I'm just a little distracted. I mean the movie is…" Her words trailed off.

He took her hand again and something in her chest quivered, by Azar she should be used to it by now but it made her heart flip every single time he took her hand. He was just extremely good at catching her off guard, she noted and smiled as she realised that she wanted someone who let her be her; it was tiring to be composed all the time. His silhouette could be seen in the darkness and she saw how he took her hand closer to him—what was he doing?—and she watched pointlessly in the dark as she saw nothing but she felt him drag the back of her hand on his skin slowly, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at how intimate the act was, before she felt his lips slowly but briefly kiss her mid-knuckle; it sent shivers down her spine, lots and lots of shivers, and—Azar forbid—she enjoyed the sensation.

"There's only half an hour left of the movie, we can go down to the pizza place after this and just hang out and, y'know, talk. I think you'd like that?" There was a questioning lilt at the end of the sentence.

Raven bit her lip and once again was reminded on how sweet Garfield could be when he put his mind to it, sweet and considerate, "I'd like that."

On impulse she moved closer towards him and tried to figure out where his cheeks were—dammit, it was times like these that she longed for Vic's night vision or Gar's animal vision—before damning it all and deciding to go for it. She kissed his cheek and was astonished at how soft his skin was—there was no hint of stubble!—and how warm it was. It lasted no more than a second but the emotion change in him was quick; it was now peppered with surprise, affection and, for some odd reason, confusion. Suddenly he heard his low chuckle and she crossed her arms indignantly in the dark; she just kissed him and he was _laughing_?

"What's so funny Logan?" Her voice was laced in annoyance at his laughter.

"It's just…" he paused to laugh and she could picture him clutching at his stomach, "It's just…it's just that…"

It was really starting to piss her off now, "That what?"

"That…" his laughter was starting to dissipate now, but it was still there, "that…" another chuckle escaped from his lips, "you kissed my nose!" he whispered loudly before falling into fits of giggles once more.

Raven huffed and went back to watching the movie; it wasn't her fault that her intimate gesture completely backfired because she couldn't _see in the dark_. He continued to laugh for a while but then it died down as soon as he realised that she was seriously pissed off. Of course she was pissed off, she thought idly to herself as Jackie Chan did some completely pointless move, he was laughing at her! OK…so she hadn't perfected the art of affection to a T but she was still trying right? As these thought continued to cloud her mind she felt a pair of lips brush her cheeks gently and this time, she didn't fight the emerging flush that she knew was coming, she was going to enjoy it.

She smiled, "Wow…you have great aim." She stated dryly, sarcasm dripping out of every word.

"I know, right? This whole seeing in the dark thing is kinda wicked and _really _useful when it comes to first dates with girls named Raven." His breath caressed her cheeks and she shuddered at the warmth of it, "You know you liked it."

"Mmmm…" She replied, not willing to give him the satisfaction that she did enjoy it, though his emotions still swelled into a mass of happiness.

"I—"

Suddenly his front pockets began to vibrate at the exact same time as Raven's bag started to vibrate and they both scrambled through their belongings only to find one thing beeping soundlessly; the communicator.

"Dammit." Garfield muttered quietly, unaware that Raven was able to hear him.

Without a word they both went out of their screen and into the main building of the cinema, both panting at their own haste. Raven pried the communicator open with her delicate fingers and muttered darkly as Dick's face suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Garfield, Raven, we've got trouble."

"Now, man? Can't it wait?" Garfield grumbled through gritted teeth, "If you haven't noticed, I kinda have a da—"

Dick immediately cut him off, "No, Gar, Plasmus is back on the streets and we need him taken down. Vic, Kor and I can only take so much; we need you both down here at once."

"You are such a—"

Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and he nodded in understanding, this was their duty, their responsibility, this was what being different meant. They would have to go on another date, she realised, a continuation of this one or if they both felt that they couldn't handle being both a superhero and in a relationship, they wouldn't go any further than they had come now…but…she shook her head.

"We'll go Dick." Raven said shortly into the communicator, "Where are you?"

"Near the pizza place, ten minutes away from the cinema if you go by foot, less, I presume, if you fly. We'll see you soon."

"OK." She sighed and glanced at Garfield, "Raven and Garfield out."

She shut off her communicator and stuffed it back into her bag. Her gaze turned to Garfield and she found him kneading his fist into his other hand and his eyes darting frustratingly here and there. Raven heaved a sigh and dragged him by the hand outdoors and into a dark alleyway.

"Gar, we'll talk about it later. Right now the city needs us."

"But…Rae…"

Raven shook her head and he stopped, "Come on Gar, take off that ring and suit up. I know that you want to get this over and done with and believe it or not, so do I. We'll talk afterwards…" she placed her hand over his and looked up at him, "I promise."

"Right…" his shoulders suddenly slumped, "I didn't bring my suit."

"Just take off the ring then…you can fight in those clothes right?"

He nodded in reply but then suddenly his brows rose, "Did _you _bring your clothes?"

Raven nodded in reply and indicated the bag she was holding before unzipping it to take out her leotard and her cape.

"Just _where _are you changing, Rae?"

"Here." Her brows quirked in amusement as she saw his jaw drop and his emotions suddenly heating up with embarrassment, "We're in an alleyway and its dark, I mean, I can't go to a public toilet and come out looking like Raven, it'll be a bit too obvious. It's not like you're going to peek, are you?" She grinned inwardly as he reddened.

"I…uh…mmm…uh…"

"You know what? Just turn around."

She checked that Garfield wasn't looking before stripping down to her underwear, her fingers hastily fumbling at her leotard as she tried to put it on; they were both nervous, she realised, nervous and slightly embarrassed…usually people didn't see their other half, well, half naked for quite some time and they weren't even each other's other halves yet, not officially anyway. Her fingers groped the laces of her cape as she hurriedly put it on.

"You can turn around now." She placed the hood over her head, "Let's go."

He nodded and stuffed his ring into his jean pocket, immediately turning green as soon as the ring has left the tip of his finger. She watched, quite fascinated, as he turned into a pterodactyl and as he raised his wings in flight though she soon broke out of her reverie, remembering that they had to cut off their date to fight Plasmus. She whispered her mantra and found herself in flight, before following the flying green creature towards their destination. They were close, she could feel it, all the hatred and pain and confusion was focused greatly only in one area, and she soon found it, just as she predicted; Plasmus manipulating the plasmatic substance he called his body to destroy anything and everything in sight and there were three figures trying to fight him off, to protect anything they could find.

She dived downwards; her hands in front of her face as if in a diving motion, and felt the sheer force of air speeding past her like knives cutting through. As she reached the ground, she glanced up at Garfield as he tumbled through the air, did a somersault and transformed into a grizzly bear.

"You guys doing OK?" She heard Garfield ask the rest and laughed inwardly as she heard them mutter darkly and groan at his question, "Right, I guess not. It's a good thing we're here; you guys can't handle anything without me, can you?" He joked.

"Beast Boy shut up and just help us, man!" She heard Cyborg from behind them before seeing a flash of bright blue light go pass her and hit Plasmus square in the face.

Plasmus was strangely agile for a being that was just a pile of…well, to put it crudely…goop. His arms twisted to reach out for the Titans, indifferent to the damage he was creating as his massive hands grappled to swat Starfire from his face. Starfire smashed towards the grown as Plasmus successfully smacked her away and Raven bit her lip before concentrating on the concrete that was around Plasmus and closed her eyes; she was _part _of the concrete. Her mind shaped the concrete to encase their opponent and as she opened her eyes, the image had become a reality and Plasmus was struggling to escape from his concrete prison.

Robin glanced at her and Raven nodded in acknowledgement, they both knew that it wasn't over, Plasmus, being Plasmus—since he was liquid and all—was going to escape any second now, but the Titans were prepared and they all spread out to surround Plasmus as soon as he escaped, planning to bombard him with everything that they had. She rushed towards the right corner of the concrete box; she was ready.

Suddenly, a loud crack was heard and Plasmus came oozing out the prison, before finally breaking out fully, causing pieces of concrete flying through the air, barely missing Starfire and Beast Boy who were currently airborne.

"Titans, now!" She heard Robin's shout faintly.

They charged and all Raven could hear was…everything, her mind was currently incapable of filtering specific sounds as it did when she was a bit calmer. She encased a street lamp with her black energy and twisted it around their adversary and she watched as a combination of green starbolts, blue lasers and birdarangs came bombarding the monster. She struck him with more pieces of concrete in hopes of knocking him out as a green rhino charged at the dark slime, Plasmus had gotten stronger since they had last met and nothing was happening.

Raven bit her lip, considering whether or not she should do what she planned on doing next, knowing that it stepped between the lines of moral and immoral. A scream was heard faintly from beside her and the sound of destruction filled her ears and her teammates were bruised and broken. At that moment, she stopped thinking as she sensed a familiar trickle of hatred come close to her and before she knew it she was in the grip of Plasmus. His grasp on her was extremely strong and she gaped for air, struggling to breathe. Her eyes widened as they met his and her breath was caught in her throat and from the corner of her eye she saw a green pterodactyl strike Plasmus, only to be swotted away with one hand.

"Raven!" It was Beast Boy's voice, she was sure of it.

She closed her eyes and imagined that she was inside Plasmus' mind, if she concentrated hard enough, she would achieve it and access everything that Plasmus knew. Her imaginary fingers grappled with his thoughts as soon as she had entered his mind and she filtered everything that she wasn't trying to find, ignoring anything that was useless to her. Her irritation grew as she trawled through the confusing images and thoughts and tried to hurry her process before Plasmus found out that she was inside him. Finally, she found what she had sent herself to find and she traced them gently so as not to harm them; his emotions. Raven picked them up with her hands before wrapping them up with her black energy and she went out of his mind, shuddering with relief and disgust, and found herself on the ground, her head against concrete, her arm slightly bruised. She blinked a couple of times as her vision blurred, slightly tinted with green when she realised that it wasn't her eyesight that was going weird, it was just that Garfield was sitting over her.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck…Raven…are you OK?"

She tried to move her hands and found that they were held tightly in his grip.

She smiled.

"Shit, Raven, whaddya do?" She looked towards the voice and saw Vic, a questioning look on his face.

"What I did to Dr.Light." Raven replied shortly, "Where is he?"

"There." Vic pointed at the far corner of the street where Dick and Kori were helping the police detain Plasmus in his dormant form, "You did the whole emotion removal thing again?"

"Yea…" She coughed.

"Baby doll…I swear…never _ever _do that again." Garfield exclaimed, his grip on her hand growing tighter.

She rolled her eyes, even in her weak state, "Who died and made you the boss, eh?"

"No, Gar is right." Dick approached them, "At least not when you're in the grips of the enemy."

"Oh, yea, that was thoughtless of me. What happened?"

"When you were in your unconscious state, the Plasmus realised that there was something extremely strange going on and he threw you…" Kori's bottom lip trembled, "We thought that we were doing the losing you, sister Raven."

She wanted to sit up but she hurt all over, "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine, I just need my powers to kick in so I can heal myself."

Dick threw her a worried look and sighed, "You're to go straight back to the tower, Raven. Vic, Kori and I are going to try to figure out who woke up Plasmus. Garfield, go with her."

Garfield nodded and the other teammates left the scene, leaving them alone. He was still sitting over her, she realised, and his warm hand was still holding hers. She sat up slowly, ignoring the pain that coursed through her entire body and smiled warmly at him. He bit his lip and eventually his left hand started to scratch his ears in thought.

"I thought that our date today was an unfair basis on what we're going to base our decision on." She stated simply and amusement twisted her heart as confusion emanated through him, "It wasn't exactly very productive."

"You just got _thrown_ by this gigantic man-goop, and you're thinking about our date!?" Garfield exclaimed questioningly, "Either you've gone completely crazy or…no, wait…there is no other explanation! You've gone crazy!"

She shrugged slowly, "Shut up, Gar, my head hurts. We'll talk later, OK?" She stood up painfully with his assistance, "Can you help me home, Gar?"

"We'll talk when you get better." He stated sternly, indicating that he was going to make sure that she stayed in bed until she healed, "You're one hell of a chick, y'know that?"

"I've been told." The edge of her lip twitched, "Now are we going home or not? I think my spleen just burst." Sarcasm licked the words thickly but Garfield's expression turned to that of horror.

"Your…your spleen!?"

"I'm kidding, Gar, my spleen hasn't burst and hopefully it never will. Now, seriously, are you taking me home or what?"

**A/N: Liked it? Hope you did, I tried my best, per usual. So anyway, please review it and tell me how to improve/what you liked/etc and I hope this chappie hasn't put you off this fic.**

**Talking about this fic, I'm planning to have only 3-4 more chapters more so, I'm sorry guys, but the end is near...**

**Wow...that's a bit dramatic.**


	20. Books and Notes

**A/N: More of a filler chapter but these were thoughts and ideas that were swirling in my head and were just demanding to get out so I decided to set them free...so TADA! Chapter 20! **

**BTW, forgive me for my OOC-ness of Raven's character in the previous chapter, it was a REALLY hard chappie to write and hopefully no one got TOO put off...I tried to get Raven's mojo back on here and I hope it shows!**

**So, read and enjoy!**

**Chapter 20**

Garfield walked into the infirmary and squinted his eyes as the lights dimmed drastically and without a second thought he switched up his eyesight to be able to see in the dark; it wasn't actually seeing in the dark, per se, not perfectly anyway, everything was a bit dark green and shadowy but he could still see her form perfectly, lying peacefully on the bed, with the blankets encasing her from her feet to her chin, and her body was curled up beneath those blankets as if she was still cold despite the fabric covering her. He walked towards her cautiously, making sure that his footsteps were as quite as ever so as not to wake her up…she looked so…._peaceful_.

He moved closer and she stirred, so he stopped. He realised that she could probably sense him anyway despite how much he tried to be quiet, she could probably tell that he was now sitting right next to her feeling confused and relieved and just happy that she was OK. He realised that if he ever wanted to try to sneak up on her and tickle her or something, he'd have to keep his emotions neutral, however one does that, because she was not just some girl…she was an empath.

She turned towards him subconsciously, her breathing slow.

She was still asleep.

He exhaled deeply in relief.

She was healing quite nicely now, he noticed, the bruises on her body only shadows of what they were before; it was quite cool that she could heal herself but he knew that it took quite a lot out of her. The expression on her face was so calm that if he didn't hear her steady breathing, he probably would've thought that she was dead and loose strands of really dark hair laced themselves almost on purpose all over her face, making sure that her eyes and lips weren't covered, it was quite long now, not as long as Kori's, but it still—barely—touched her shoulders in wispy, straight strands.

He placed the books he was carrying on the bedside table and arranged it so that she would be able to see them as soon as she woke up. There were five of them, each of them a favourite of Raven and they were the few that he actually enjoyed without making his brain hurt, or at the very least, not put him to sleep.

"Gar…?" He heard her murmur as her eyes fluttered open, "How long have I been asleep?" She smacked her lips softly and he immediately passed the glass of water on her bedside table towards her.

Garfield looked up at the clock in the infirmary and found that it was eleven in the morning, "Half a day, maybe? Not sure but…" he brushed a lock of hair from out of her eyes, "shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Hmph," she snorted in reply, "I think I've had enough sleep to categorise myself as a hibernating mammal. Plus I think I'm done healing myself."

"Done? You still have some bruises!"

She bit her lip, "Yes, but the worst of it is done…plus I've wasted a lot of energy." Raven pointed at a bruise on her arm, "I'll let nature take its course, I mean, they'll heal slower but that won't matter too much."

The lights above them flickered rapidly causing strange shadows to dance on the walls and floors and the room suddenly went cool, causing Raven to clutch the blankets around herself tightly. He chuckled, amused, and watched as her face turned to that of indignation.

"What?"

"Nothing." He grinned, "You're cute, that's all baby doll."

She grumbled once more, muttering darkly about how people didn't like to be left out of the inside joke. Her hair was mussed up due to her unruly sleeping positions and he smiled as she continued to glare at him resentfully, but then she stopped as seemed to notice the pile of books that laid on her bedside table, along with her empty glass of water.

"What's that?" She asked, referring to the books, a quizzical look etched on her face.

"This?" He beamed at her, "They're books."

"Books? What books?"

He watched as she grabbed hungrily at the five books, checking out the covers of the books and stroking it with longing, she had after all gone quite a long time without some of her favourite books as they had gotten incinerated alongside the destruction of the her and Dick's rooms. A small smile painted itself on her lips as she flipped through them nonchalantly, but he knew that she wanted to read them immediately by the way she gazed at them.

"'Catch-22'…'We'…'The Outsider'…'Valiant: A modern Faerie tale'…'This Earth of Mankind'…" Her throaty whispers were filled with excitement and her eyes shone brightly as she turned to look at him, "Gar…how?" Her lips were pursed in confusion.

"Well…" He chuckled, "I found these two," he indicated at the books 'We' and 'Valiant', "on our island when I was rummaging through the bushes randomly and so I got them rebound since they were almost completely, like, destroyed and the other three, I bought these this morning since, y'know, that bookstore that you always go to? Apparently, they open up at nine-thirty…I mean, seriously, what store opens at nine-thirty?" He asked incredulously.

"Why?" She looked and he realised that she smelt curious, _really _curious.

"I thought you might get bored here…plus you, like, only ever read '1984' since it's the only book that you could save and all. Oh, dude, I just remembered," He scrambled around in his hoodie pockets and finally found what he was looking for; a tiny black book, bound in leather with a few pages and was filled with tiny cursive writing, "The man at the cashier asked me who I was buying books for so early in the morning—and shit it was early—and when I said it was Rachel Roth, he, like took off to one of the bookshelves and gave me this. He was all like 'Free of charge!" and I asked why and he was all…she comes here almost every day and is our favourite customer and this is her favourite poem, she's always reading it. So, yea, here."

She took the small black book from her hands and flicked through it slowly, her eyes digesting every single word that was on each page. He watched as her fingers caressed the leather cover, as if she could take it all in through the touch of her delicate fingers.

"I read it; I dunno why you like it though. It's so…" He scrambled around his mind for a word, "_sad_." He stated finally.

"Yes…yes it is…" she smiled but it was _wrong _for some reason that Garfield couldn't understand; her scent was sad and content but there was a hint of longing in there too, "Thanks."

He observed her as she traced her fingers on the titled—'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe—and placed it gently on her pillow. She turned to him, her lips purse so tightly that her lips almost disappeared before sitting up slowly on the bed.

"I think Mother might've named me after the raven in this poem." She said finally as the silence became too heavy for both of them to bear.

Garfield frowned, "You're not the bringer of death or misfortune, Rae."

"I was supposed to be." She shrugged and glanced at the book for half a second, "And Nevermore…it's a constant in the poem, always accompanied by the raven. Do you think that means I'll always be connected with my emotions?"

"Is that a bad thing? Coz it sounds all good to me."

Raven sighed, "It's not a _bad _thing I guess…but it's not necessarily a good thing either…but…" she shook her head then smiled at him, "never mind about that." She cocked her head to the side and looked at him questioningly, "So…"

"So…?" He asked, knowing what she was referring to.

"So…where do we go from here, Gar?" The tone of her voice was low, unsure.

"Right where we left off?"

His ears twitched hopefully but there was a doubtful voice in the back of his head that told him that they were going to cut their relations short, that their relationship was going to be limited to that utterly crap date that they had gone on. He knew that their date wasn't what she expected—hell it wasn't what _he _expected!—and it was filled with awkward spots and embarrassing spots but it was natural, right? They had been friends—for lack of better word—for five years now and it wasn't the easiest friendship—though it was really significant in helping him _kinda _grow up—but it was hard to break the cycle of being friends and working towards being something more. He hoped, he hoped so badly, that she understood this and that one date was no basis to start a relationship on; they needed time, he knew, especially with someone as guarded as Raven was, and he was willing to give it if she wanted him to give it and—please, Goddamit!—she was willing to accept it.

He took in her scent and revelled in the mixture of cranberries and of confusion, it was a bittersweet scent; he loved cranberries but he hated the fact that she was confused on whether or not they would continue their relationship and he wanted to have his say in it but she was to have the first word because he knew that despite the fact that he was nervous about starting a relationship with her, she had to be even more uneasy about it since she hadn't really had any good experiences with men…namely the fact that her father was the demon Trigon and the first one she loved turned out to be a huge jerk who was just using her to get out of some stupid book.

He gritted his teeth.

"I'm not sure if I want this…" She started but then her words trailed into wordless mumbles.

"You're not sure if you want it, Rae?" Garfield asked, maybe a little too sternly, but the words tumbled out uncontrollably, "Because I'm pretty sure that I like you and I'm pretty sure that you like me…I didn't recognise it before but I smell it on you, Rae."

She sighed heavily, "I admit that I like you but I'm unsure whether or not that I want a relationship, and even if I do, how it'll affect my powers." Her chakra glowed briefly before fading.

"Screw your powers Rae and don't let your thing with _Malchior_," He spat the name out bitterly, "be the basis of what you think relationships are. I really, _really _like you and I would never _ever _use you…_ever_!_"_

"My powers are dangerous as it is, even with me controlling them, I can hurt people without even _trying_." She glared at him, heat coming back into her eyes to replace the weariness that was in them, "And Malchior has _nothing _to do with this." She seethed with angry heat, and his nose twitched as his nose was overpowered by the smell.

"So, what are we going to do about it? Because I really like you and I know that we agreed to leave things as it is if we didn't think it would work but I _know _it'll work and if it doesn't the first time, we'll try again and again because…I don't think I can just be friends with you anymore."

Her scent was tickled with amusement for some odd reason, "You sound like you're in love with me." The scent changed, it was sad for some reason, but it was also hopeful.

"I dunno…" he shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, "maybe, maybe not. I won't know for sure until we _try _this, Raven." He started to scratch his ears despite the fact that they weren't itchy at all, "I mean, of all the girls I've gone out with, even Terra—however briefly—you've been the only one I've felt so…connected with. We have this deep understanding of each other, like we're completely different people but we have the same core, or something like that, and I don't want to waste that…so…maybe."

"Oh."

That was all she could say and she subconsciously placed her fingers over her mouth. He had noticed that habit of hers recently, he didn't know why he didn't notice it before, and he knew that she only ever did it when she had something to say but she was unsure if she should say it or not, it was like she was physically trying to stop words from coming out of her mouth. It was just so…_her_, like the ear scratching was his and his alone, he didn't know whether to laugh or smile or to frown whenever she did the gesture and he didn't think that she knew she was doing it either.

"It's not like you can't go out with any other girls, Garfield." She finally said before biting her lower lip, "There are a _lot _more girls out there…girls who are happier than me, prettier than me, smarter than me, more talkative than me, more…I could go on and on and on Logan. I don't really know why you like me, Logan."

So she was referring to him by his last name now, was she?

He felt the urge to scratch his ears but he stopped as a thought suddenly came to him; was she pushing him away? Was she scared of being more than the bringer of doom with her sarcastic and introverted ways?

"Raven…there's no use pushing me away." He said instinctively though he wasn't sure if this was what she was really doing, "I like you and that's the last of it."

Her eyes looked pained and the voice that came out was not the usual low throaty voice that perked his senses whenever he heard it but it sounded strained, "I've been thinking and…_discussing _with my Emotions about you and they're not sure either…Logan, you do not want to go out with a girl like me and I do not want to be dependent on one guy."

"Aw…" He tried to lighten the situation but he knew that his smile didn't reach his eyes, "Who wouldn't want to be dependent on a hunk like me?"

She glared at him and he stopped chuckling, "Logan, I am being extremely serious and if you would stop acting like such an idiot then I'd be able to tell you why this…_we_…would never work." She was acting all sarcastic and mean again to him, that was a good sign, "We are two _extremely _different people Garfield," another step, "and things that are too different do not work out well in the end and your friendship, no matter how bizarre, is much appreciated and I wouldn't want to lose that."

"You are so cute when you get all frustrated."

"Garfield!"

"OK, fine, I'll be serious. You know what? None of that matters to me and it shouldn't matter to you too. Don't…overcomplicate things, you always do that, you overcomplicate things and you hesitate and think 'Dude, I dunno if I should do that' and you end up not doing it. It is simple, we both like each other and that usually means that they'll start dating. It's, like, _so _frickin' simple, baby doll."

She grumbled and glowered at him, "You make it sound so simple Gar." Another step.

"It _is _simple." He moaned.

Raven crossed her arms harshly before flopping back onto the bed to look up at the ceiling with its flickering lights. She closed her eyes and seemed lost in thought, causing Garfield to wonder what she was thinking about and whether maybe, just maybe, she was considering changing her decision.

"You know, you are the most stubborn guy I have ever known."

He cocked a dark green brow at her, "Touché, baby doll, touché."

"So despite the fact that I am neither romantic, affectionate, pretty, happy-go-lucky or talkative, you still want to go out with me?"

"And tall, you forgot to mention that you're not tall." He grinned broadly.

She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, "Way to make a girl feel better about herself." She snorted and her brows contorted in concentration, "So despite these factors, you still want to go out with me?"

He nodded eagerly in reply.

"You are a very brave man, Garfield Logan."

He beamed, "Apparently, some have told me so." He humoured her.

Her brow quirked upwards, "Some? You mean your imaginary friends?"

"Hey! I _am brave_! _And _I have friends! And quit changing the subject!" He pouted, "So will you go out with me Raven, pretty please?" He fluttered his lashes in an attempt to show off his innocence.

She clicked her tongue at his impatience, "Fine."

The answer took him aback.

"Fine?"

"Fine." She paused for a while and sat back up to face him, her violet eyes as startling as ever, "But I'll go out with you on _one _date, and unless after the date I say that I'm ready and willing to participate in a relationship with you, we are _not _going on another one."

He considered this for a moment and finally realised that if he wanted to date her then he would have to agree to these terms, which means that the next date that he took her on had to be the very best date that she had ever experienced…_ever_.

"Fine." He agreed, nodding his head.

Raven scrunched up her forehead, "So where are you going to be taking me?"

"Uh…I haven't really thought that far yet." He grinned sheepishly and watched as she rolled her eyes, "Don't worry I'll tell you when and where _very _soon."

"Figures."

He thrust his lower lip out once more, "Hey! At least I got this far! You've gotta gimme credit for that!"

She nodded absent-mindedly and lay back onto her bed, her head sinking deeply into the extremely fluffy pillow, "Gar…I think I'm going to go sleep now…I'm…" yawn, "tired."

He nodded and stood up from the chair he was sitting on and watched as her breathing grew steadily slower and the expression on her face steadily calmer. Once again, his thoughts filled with the fact that she looked so peaceful when she was asleep and not as…_steely_ and guarded as she was when she was awake. The contrast was significant but it was still part of Raven and he was pleased with that.

Garfield leaned forward and watched as her eyelids stayed closed but occasionally fluttered as if she was trying to wake up but didn't want to at the same time. Her lashes were really long and were, oddly enough, the same colour as her hair, a strange dark purple that, if she were human, wouldn't have come naturally and would've come straight out of a box. He moved closer until his lips finally kissed one of her eyelids and stood back up, he had always wanted to do that, ever since he had seen her eyes up close…not just up close but with a swirl of emotions behind them that he occasionally wanted to decipher; she was a mystery to him and always would be.

"Have a nice sleep, baby doll."

He stroked her hair once and walked slowly out of the infirmary, basking in the bright light that appeared suddenly once he left the room and he took one glance at Raven before going off to find Vic and Dick to talk about dinner plans.

* * *

It was five in the afternoon and the sky was getting darker but not dark enough that he couldn't see without his animal vision. He, Vic and Dick had been discussing where she should take Raven next and had also congratulated him for having the nerve to ask her out, it was a long talk and hadn't really finished until about three in the afternoon and by then they had set up everything; the reservations, the transportation, his clothes, and even his breath mints. Of course the date wasn't really gonna happen today but he wanted to be prepared so that he wouldn't forget anything, as he was prone to doing. Garfield felt bad for leaving Raven alone in the secluded infirmary but Kori had informed him that she was doing well and was reading _a lot_.

He grinned.

Striding confidently to the infirmary, he opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Kori sitting next to her, reading a fashion magazine while Raven was sound asleep once more. The flame-haired alien looked up from her magazine and beamed at him, Kori took much joy in their progressing relationship and he suspected that she thought that she had been the matchmaker between the two.

"Well, good afternoon friend Garfield, have you and the other two men completed the plans for the date?"

He nodded, "Yea, we just finished a couple of hours ago…I just hope that this one goes better than the one yesterday."

"The date of your first probably did not go as badly as you think, friend Garfield, it was probably only the awkwardness of these date of the first and the frustration of getting it cut off by the Plasmus."

"I guess…how long has she been asleep, Kor?" He changed the subject.

"For some time now, yet her vitals are steady, friend Garfield, you do not need to worry so."

"That's good. She needs the rest."

Kori nodded and turned back to look at Raven and they both watched her as Raven breathed softly and steadily.

"Did she tell you how our date went?" He asked suddenly.

He saw her head bob up and down in reply, "Yes, though quite briefly. She has…mixed feelings about it and hopes that the next date goes better. She_ does_ like you, friend Garfield; she just has a…hard time revealing these feelings."

He raked a hand through his hair, "I know, I know it's just that…I'm so open about these things and sometimes it's just hard for me to understand her problems in just…letting them out, y'know?" He sighed and moved closer towards Raven, "She looks peaceful." He said finally.

"Yes, she does indeed, friend."

There was a long bout of silence and the constant beeping was the only sound that was generated by anything in the infirmary. It wasn't usual for Kori and Garfield to have an awkward moment, because when it came to it she was the only female he had ever known that he had thought of more than just a _really _hot girl, but as a friend. She was there when he needed cheering up or when he wanted to do something silly that he knew would irritate the others or whenever she just wanted to laugh, really, they were practically siblings—albeit she was _way _too hot to be his sister—and under all the superficial happiness they knew their role in the Teen Titans and their roles were similar so they connected straight away.

He sometimes wondered why he hadn't fallen for Kori; she was fun, mind-blowingly gorgeous, hilarious, quirky and…did he mention that she was hot? She was the complete opposite of Raven and if people were to say who he fancied then they would probably say that he liked Kori because why would he choose the quiet, introverted, plainly pretty, viciously sarcastic and straight-laced girl when he could choose the other? Maybe, he thought, maybe Kori was just _too _similar with him in things that didn't even really matter, like…the way they both laughed at the simplest jokes and the fact that they tried to be happy for everyone all the time and their love of animals but…they didn't have the same principles and their understanding of each other was limited to…he wasn't even sure what they were limited to. Sure, they flirted plenty of times, especially in the early days, but it was more like mischievous banter, as if they wanted to see how far the other would go before they dropped their flirtatious nature, but it was never anything serious.

"Sometimes I do wonder what will come out of it." She spoke up, breaking the silence, "She is fragile, Raven is, though she does not like to admit it, and stubborn, extremely stubborn. She has only ever known love from us and her mother and her experiences with men have not been too pleasant, friend Garfield." There was silence once again, "You too, though admittance from you is hard as well, have experienced hardships." Another pause, "It is not that I am doing the doubting of your affections, friend, yet…friend…I am doubting her willingness to accept them. I am meaning that I am doubting whether or not she will accept them wholly. You must take care of her." Kori said finally.

Garfield's mind was working hard, digesting all the words that she had just said, trying to figure out what she had been saying and he realised that she was doubting whether or not they would last if they did start dating; not because they didn't like each other, no, but because of Raven's inability to open up completely. He moved his mouth as if he wanted to say something but he decided against it, Kori had her opinions and he had his own; they would last, he just knew it!

She seemed to have read his mind and she swept some of her red hair out of her face, her face the very picture of seriousness, something quite unfamiliar that Garfield couldn't decide suited her or not, "I am only using the logic, as boyfriend Dick has taught me, and this way of thinking has pointed it at this conclusion…" Her words trailed off, "Yet I am hopeful, that is what I am." She grinned and her green eyes lit up, "I am hopeful that it will be working out, friend, for I have not seen her so happy in such a long time."

"Thanks…I guess." He really didn't know what to say but then remembered what he came down here for, "Can I leave a note for Raven here? I mean, will you give it to her when she wakes up?"

"Sure, friend Garfield." She was perky again, as if the conversation they had didn't exist, "Will it be note of the verbal of a note of the written?"

"Written."

He quickly took out the piece of paper and pen he had been carrying it around with him since his talk with the guys and scribbled a quick note on it, hoping to God that Raven could read his handwriting and hoping that if she couldn't, she wouldn't berate him for not having better handwriting.

_**Baby doll, we'll go out on…what day is it again today? Thursday, right. So we'll go out on Saturday night, yea? I'm not gonna tell you where we're gonna go except that I think that you, of all people, will love it. So we'll leave at about 7, OK?**_

_**Can't wait for Saturday and I hope you get better soon!**_

_**-Garfield (the dependable hunk)**_

_**PS. Dress up nice :)**_

His eyes traced the words again, his tongue licking his lips dry as he made sure that everything that needed explaining had been explained. He grinned in satisfaction as he reread the note once more; it was simple, direct and yet it conveyed everything that she needed to know. He placed the note on her bedside table and scribbled a quick 'Open me up!' on it so that she would open it up straight after she woke up.

He flashed a grin at Kori.

"You're a good friend Kor."

She beamed and he could tell that it was a real smile, "It is I who most appreciates your friendship, friend Garfield Logan, you have been good to me these past few years."

He chuckled as he thought of the years that have gone by so quickly, "I was talking about you being a good friend to Raven but I guess it works for me too."

"Oh, yes, I do understand." Her smile softened and the light in her green eyes were mellow, "You will take care of her?"

He nodded and he knew that was all she needed to know. Raven was like a sister to Kori, the complete antithesis of her own personality, but still a sister and if any harm came to Raven, any distress, she would beat up the one who had caused it, quite literally.

Garfield nodded absent-mindedly and walked towards the door of the infirmary. His fingers rested on the open button but he glanced back at the two figures for a while and wondered that maybe those two weren't so different after all, maybe he was just looking at them both in the wrong way…maybe they weren't different at all.

**A/N: SO...what did you think? I hope it'll suffice...I know Kori seems a bit serious in this one but I wanted to show that there was more to Kori than the optimistic love child that she is always portrayed as. **

**And the books that I was talking about..they're my favourites and they are actually quite genius, youd should all read them! Espesh "This Earth of Mankind", written from a guy from my own homeland mannnn!**

**The poem IS actually sad, I read it quite recently and my symbolism analysis monitor just went off in my head like crazy so I thought I'd put it here.**

**Anyways, enough about me...review please? It'll make me ever so happy!**

**Muchos love!**


	21. Tofu pancakes and lacy black heels

**A/N: Righty-o, I haven't updated in a while and this update isn't going to help much in the long run. It's basically pointless but I had to distract myself from writing the last chappie. It's kinda sad, I do love this ficcie.**

**So yea: pointless, pointless, pointless.**

**But I hope you do love the pointlessness of it all, the tone is totally not even and the chappie feels a bit awkward, but nevertheless, it is still a distraction. **

**So yea, enjoy?**

**PS. Hope you don't mind the swearing, it seemed funny at the time.**

**Chapter 21**

Garfield stared at his tofu pancakes as his fingers subconsciously moved the fork back and forth on the plate yet it never lifted to touch his mouth. It wasn't that it didn't taste nice—or at least he thought it did taste nice—it was just that the butterflies in his stomach had suddenly evolved into killer moths.

Today was Saturday.

It was now midday.

He was feeling like an utter wreck.

He licked his dry lips and his green eyes continued to look at the pancakes, though at the same time, he wasn't really looking at them either, he was just…thinking. He had been doing that a lot, he realised, and he was distracting himself with the GameStation less…he wondered why sometimes but at other times he just let it be and just put it to the fact that he was growing up and—though it might be denied by the other Titans—he _was _growing up, not only physically, but also mentally; he was considering other people's feelings, he tried not to be so obnoxious and at times he let his bad mood take over and took off the happy-go-lucky façade that was sometimes _really _tiring to put on constantly.

Yet at the same time, Garfield Logan was not growing up, at the same time he was still immature, he still made stupid—though he would never admit it to anyone—jokes and he would constantly annoy anyone and everyone until he found the companionship that he sought out. Sometimes being the youngest out of all the Titans had its downsides and the more his team mates scolded him about these downsides made him even more…rebellious…in a way. He was stubborn and he only took orders from those he had respected and to this day he wondered if anyone respected him enough that they would trust him with their lives.

Probably not.

He sighed and stabbed his fork into the pancake.

All of a sudden a dark shadow loomed over his meal, causing Garfield to look up into the faces of the other two guys of the team; Dick and Vic. Their faces were canvases of concern and not a smile hit those eyes, they looked like…like—he scratched his head in thought, wondering what they looked like—like what he thought overprotective parents looked like. Not that he knew what overprotective parents looked like, of course, demanding parents he had known firsthand but overprotective parents?—he shook his head—never.

"Whaddya guys want?" He asked blearily, feeling as if his stomach was eating itself.

"Garfield…" Dick started.

His two friends took a seat simultaneously in front of him, their faces a picture of grim determination. Garfield took a good look in them and realised that there was something in their eyes, as if they wanted to tell him something important but they didn't know how to go about it. Vic's lips were twitching at the edges as if he was trying hard not to laugh but his eyes were something else; they were steely, calm and collected and that scared the shit out of Garfield. Since when did Vic look like that?

Vic cleared his throat and looked straight into his eyes, "Garfield…"

"Yea…?" Garfield's brow rose, "Dude, what's this all about man? You guys are making me nervous and I'm fucking nervous enough as it is."

"Garfield," Garfield realise that Dick's eyes could be _pretty _scary, especially when he was concentrating _really _hard, like he was now, it almost made Garfield wish that Dick pout back his impersonal mask back on, "We have got to talk."

"So?" His brows contorted incredulously and he shrugged, "So, talk."

Vic sighed and looked as if he didn't really want to be there, talking to his best friend who was mucking about with a plate of tofu pancakes, "No, B, we need to _talk_."

"So…talk!" He was getting a little irritated now, what the hell were those two on about? First he was nervous about his date tonight with Raven and _now _his friends were speaking gobbledegook to him? What the hell?

Dick looked a little embarrassed and that was rare for him. Garfield had noticed as of late that Dick was becoming more and more like his father; steelier, colder, harder and the fact that his embarrassment showed meant that he must've been _really _out of it. Garfield just wandered what Dick was out of.

"Garfield don't make this any harder than it is now. We need to _talk_. _Talk_." He repeated that word as if it was a magical mantra and the intensity in his eyes was unnerving.

Geez, God, way to make a guy more intimidating than ever.

Wait a minute, why did they keep emphasising the word 'talk'? Was it some type of special code? Garfield pursed his lips and swirled the pancakes into the syrup, creating a distorted mush that looked more like something that came out of your mouth instead of something that should go into your mouth. Hmmm…'talk'…what was with that word? It was strangely familiar…a certain 'talk' that was given to teens when they—

His mouth fell open.

"T-t-talk?" He found himself stuttering though he didn't know why, "Do you mean…_the _talk?" His eyes darted around the dining room, trying to avoid the hard gazes of Vic and Dick.

The two glanced at each other briefly before nodding to each other, then nodding to Garfield.

He gulped.

It felt like there was a lump in his throat.

_The _talk?

What the—?

"What the hell, guys!? The talk? Of all things? _The _talk? The one with the birds and the bees? Which, by the way does not make any sense at all." He grumbled and gritted his teeth, "I'm not stupid, man! I'm not gonna sleep with Raven on our second date! I barely got her to frickin' open up to me and you think she's gonna sleep with me, just like that?" His breathing was ragged and he sounded angry, well…he was a little angry.

Vic frowned and waved his hands in front of him, urging him to relax, "Whoa, man, calm down. We just wanna make sure that's all."

"Make sure? Dude you guys are practically accusing me of being some type of…" he felt his eyes bulge as he scrambled around in his head for the right word, "nympho!"

"Well you do kind of…" Dick grimaced and was instantly cut off by an annoyed Garfield.

"I do not get around!" Garfield pointed accusingly at Dick, each and every word a piece of venom that sounded so unfamiliar from his own lips, but they came out anyway, "I've slept with one girl and one girl only!" His voice reminded him of Raven's when she got angry at him, low, throaty and threatening, "And you!" He stabbed his finger at Dick's chest, pounding it harder and harder as the words flew out of his mouth, "You can frickin' talk! Why the _hell _do you think Raven quit Kori's room, eh?" His words softened but they still carried a certain edge, "She was probably _traumatised _by the sight of you two bumping uglies!"

Dick's face immediately blanched; the outer ring of his lips paled and he was pallid, really pallid. His crystal blue eyes widened in shock and his hands rapidly gripped the edge of the table tightly, so tightly that Garfield was scared that he was gonna break the hunk of metal off. Victor was looking at Dick strangely, as if seeing him in a whole new light; it wasn't that they didn't know that the couple were finally sleeping with each other, it was the fact that it made it _real _and that someone as _innocent _and _pure _as Kori could even entertain such thoughts. Sure she was a sexy little thing but she was innocent and naïve nonetheless.

"She…she saw?" Those words seemed to struggle to come out of Dick's throat.

Garfield's voice calmed down but he was still pissed off, "Hell yea she did."

"Oh God." His eyes widened and he licked his lips nervously under the gaze of Garfield and Vic, "Oh God. No wonder she was blocking me off every time I tried to…contact her." Both Vic and Garfield knew that he was referring to his bond, "I mean she's stopped now…stopped blocking me but…there's still some hesitation whenever I try to impose my thoughts into hers. She must hate me or something…" His words faltered and those piercing blue eyes were downcast.

Garfield suddenly felt bad, he had never really seen Dick this…hurt before and it wasn't like he wasn't expecting it; Garfield knew that Dick perceived Raven as his sister, the closest thing to family apart from the original Bat clan, and he knew that Dick still felt in debt with Raven for saving his life by creating the bond between the two, something that physically exhausted her and caused her to detect Dick's emotions more intimately than the emotions of the others. They were close, and he had to admit that he was jealous quite a few times because they were so similar with each other and he thought that Raven liked Dick, but he knew now that it was never like that.

He sighed.

"Dude, she doesn't hate you and…I'm sorry for losing my temper like that. I'm just a bit…" He bit his lip and looked apologetically at him, "nervous and well…just a bit pissed that you guys would accuse me of trying to make a move on Raven on our second date." He grumbled gruffly.

Vic heaved a sigh also and Garfield thought that it was in hopes that it would break the tension, "Look, man, BB, we're not here to accuse you of anything. We're just warnin' ya, y'know. If you try anything funny with Raven it ain't gonna be funny no more once we're done with you."

"I won't. I promise." He turned to look at Dick once more and saw him compose himself in his usual confident demeanour, "She's not pissed at you, just a little uncomfortable at the time, and she's probably not uncomfortable anymore."

"Then why doesn't she go back to sleep in Kori's room?" Dick asked fervently.

Garfield shrugged, "Maybe she's just used to sleeping in the Common Room…sleeping with me." He grinned cheekily, "You know, quite literally."

"Not funny man." Vic exclaimed through fits of chuckles, "We're bein' serious man. You mess with her, you mess with us." He crossed his arms in front of his chest as if to show how true those words were.

Dick grimaced, "Extremely serious, she's the one who's most impacted by her emotions no matter how hard she tries to deny it. You better treat her right, Gar." His tone was threatening but there was no hint of menace in them.

"I always treat girls right, dude! Always! And I'll treat her even better than _right_, she's special, she _is_." He sighed and smiled before breaking out of his reverie as he realised that he was sounding like a complete girl, "And haven't you guys already given me this speech before?"

"We have? Huh, didn't notice." Vic said nonchalantly, "Point is, we know that you treat girls right but this is Raven we're talkin' 'bout and she's like our lil' sis, y'know?"

"Yea, I know." Garfield stated shortly.

And they were right, he realised, they were completely and utterly right. If anything happened—anything bad, that is—then he might be the one at fault if it broke up their family. Raven might decide that she was a bit too uncomfortable with having Garfield around and she would leave. Then what? It wouldn't feel right to be in the Teen Titans anymore and the team mates might start to distance themselves away from each other and would eventually break apart. It was different with Kori and Dick, as much as he hated to admit, but those two? They were frickin' destined for each other. The moment that she kissed him, even if it was for superficial reasons such as getting a language, everyone knew that they would be together forever. With him and Raven? Not so sure.

"Are we done here?" Garfield asked finally after they sat in silence for a while.

Dick frowned and crossed his arms, "For the most part, yes."

"For the most part?"

Dick smiled and shoved his hand in front of him, "I say congratulations, Garfield. If you asked me if you would be the first one who would successfully get a date—no _two _dates!—with Raven, you—to put it nicely—wouldn't have been the first on my list." His smile was small but sincere, "She really likes you, Garfield, and I advice you not to mess it up."

"I'll try." He laughed but then saw the serious expression on his face, "I'm being serious, I'll do my best. I really like her too and I'm sure hoping that I'm not gonna be the one to mess it up."

Vic slapped him on the back affectionately and chuckled; sounding more like a low rumble, "Yea, dude, didn't think you had it in ya. She's a tough nut to crack and all and you cracked it! Grass stain, you make me proud. Don't know how you did it, but ya did it." He grinned and his red eye flashed humorously, "Don't be all annoyin' and stupid, now, BB, you know it pisses her off."

"She likes your jokes…sometimes." Dick added as an afterthought, "But seriously, lay off the lame jokes for a while. Just be…yourself, I guess."

"But the jokes _are _me! How can I be me without the jokes?"

"I'm guessing that she's seen past the lame jokes and she sees something, I don't know what that something is, but she sees it and she likes it despite the fact that you constantly try to conceal it with the jokes."

"How—?"

Dick shrugged and there was a distant look in his eyes, "I just do. Trust me on this, just be yourself. I heard that your first date didn't go so well."

"Yea, she didn't look so hot when I asked her 'bout it." Vic stated, "She threw me one of those 'repeat-that-question-any-time-soon-and-I-will-send-you-to-another-dimension' looks that she does all the time." He rolled his eyes and did a perfect imitation of the look which sent Dick and Garfield howling with laughter and the sheer precision of it, "But then again it might've been coz I was sticking an IV drip in her wrist."

"It went…OK…I guess." He bit his lip and thought about their first date, "It was just…awkward, y'know? Like…it was her first date so she didn't know what to do and she was expecting…something….but I'm not sure what to do…and she was nervous, she was hella nervous. You could smell it on her from miles away!" He exclaimed, "But it was my fault too, I guess. I was trying to take it slow but—I don't mean to brag or anything—I've never had to take it slow with anyone else so I didn't really know how to go about it either. _And _I chose to watch 'The Forbidden Kingdom' for our first date."

Both of his friends' faces fell as they heard the last part and—as if they had rehearsed it beforehand—they both punched him playfully on his arms.

"Ow! What was that for!?"

"Man! No wonder she thought her first date was shit…you watched The effin' Forbidden Kingdom!" Vic grumbled and gave him a look of complete disappointment, "It's such a guy movie that it isn't even funny! Why didn't you let her choose the damn movie!?"

"Well she told me to choose it for her and I did! What else was I suppose to do? _Force_ her to choose it?"

Dick frowned, "Well, I'm not claiming to be an expert on girls or whatever since I've only ever been in a relationship with one girl—Babs does not count!—" He sent a warning look towards both of them, "but I would say it would've been way wiser to choose the movie _together_."

Garfield heaved a sigh and flung his arms around exasperatedly, "Well _I _didn't know that!"

"Right…says the guy who goes out on a date with a different girl every two weeks…" Dick grinned.

"I do not—!" Garfield paused then counted the number of girls he had gone out within the past year alone, "OK, maybe I've gone out with a few but not _that _many."

"Yea, yea…whatever man. Dude I _taught _you how to get with girls and you get more girls than I ever do!" Vic complained, his eye glinting mischievously.

"Yea, yea. I get your point; I'm a total man-hoe." Garfield grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly they all burst into laughter at Garfield's sarcastic confession and happiness filled his nose like a long awaited smell. They knew him too well, he knew, they had lived together for five whole years and every moment of those years were filled with the process of discovering each other's quirks and qualities. They were brothers, and if Garfield ever had siblings he wouldn't be surprised if they had ended up like Vic and Dick, though to be honest it was quite hard imagining a life without Vic and Dick, they were so melded into his identity that he didn't even know if he would've become the person he is today if it weren't for them.

His fingers played with the fork he was still holding and once again he stared back down at the tofu pancakes that he still hadn't eaten. They were cold now, cold and soggy and they probably weren't that nice anymore. He sighed and gently placed the fork on the plate, leaving his hand free of any instruments.

"By the way, Garfield, did you get those reservations set up?" Dick asked, his brow rose questioningly.

"Reservations, what—? Oh shit!"

He rushed from his seat, causing his chair to almost fly out from beneath him. His mind frantically tried to figure out where the nearest phone was but he couldn't help thinking about his friends back in the dining room; they were probably laughing now, rolling around on the ground, helpless with fits of laughter.

But then he stopped and thought about Dick's last comment and on where he and Raven were going tonight…something just wasn't right.

Now he remembered.

"THE STUPID PLACE DOESN'T NEED RESERVATIONS, YOU FUCKERS!" He shouted at the door as the howls of laughter grew louder, "Jerks." He muttered to himself.

He sighed.

The killer moths had decided to start eating the innards of his stomach.

* * *

"Kori! Kori, no!"

Raven frantically waved her arms around in front of her in an attempt to try to defend herself from an orange-skinned alien holding a bunch of cosmetics in the weirdest colours possible. Makeup was bad enough but in colours like neon yellow!?

"No…Kori!"

Kori's face fell and her hand dropped to her side, "Do you not wish me to beautify yourself? Is it not tradition for the first night-date to do the ritual of the making up?"

"Kori, as much as I understand that I do not know a thing about makeup, I'm pretty sure that purple lipstick is not going to go so well with the dress."

"Perhaps…" Raven watched as Kori scrambled through her makeup bag and fished out a fushcia coloured lip gloss, "This would—"

Raven glared at the lip gloss as if her sight would melt it, "If you _dare _to put that on me, I swear to Azar, I will feed Silkie to Vic and you _know _that he eats pretty much _anything_."

Her best friend stopped in her tracks and placed the lip gloss gently on her bed, her expression that of sheer fright. She bit her lip and looked pleadingly at Raven with her big—green—doe eyes as if she took her threat as true.

Well, it was only _partially_ true.

"Relax, Kor, I'm not _really _going to feed Silkie to Vic…I don't think it'll be too good for him, not sure what killer larvae's do to robotic stomachs." She smirked, "If you _really _want to apply makeup on me then you can…but _only _mascara and lip gloss or I _swear _I will _really _do something to Silkie."

Kori instantaneously clapped her hands gleefully, before giggling in joy but then her actions slowly faltered and she cocked her head to the side questioningly.

"What?" Raven asked as Kori continued to lay her gaze on her.

Kori shook her head, "Are you sure you're feeling better, friend Raven? Some of your bruises are still…apparent."

"I'll be fine, I've had worse." One side of her lip raised slightly but then dropped again as she rubbed her arm, conscious that there was still some yellowing on it, "Sleeping was never one of my best talents."

"Well, you should not be forcing yourself if you are not feeling at all well." Kori replied, her hands on her hips stubbornly, "The dating can wait."

"I'm _fine_, Kor, _really_." Raven smiled.

"Oh, truly?"

"Yes."

She shouldn't have been surprised, but she was as Kori flung herself at her and squeezed her, once again proving to everyone that Kori did not know the extent to her strength, it was quite cute, really. She released her grip on Raven and giggled girlishly once more, moreover proving that she was probably more excited about the date than Raven was. It wasn't that Raven wasn't excited; really, it was just that she didn't want to get her hopes up to high.

"Oh, friend Raven!" Kori cooed, "You will look gloriously beautiful!" She moved towards her closet and rummaged through it a while before taking out lacy black and white heels and a matching clutch, "You will be needing these. I do hope you do know how to be working the heels?"

Raven sighed and took the accessories from Kori's hands, "If I can handle Trigon and my literature course, I think that I can handle a pair of heels."

"Your point is valid." She giggled, "Let us see if it is true though, friend Raven." She motioned for Raven to put the heels on.

Raven's brow rose and she slowly slipped the heels on before she stood up and she felt a little shaky as the thin stiletto heel tried to get her to balance, but she stood defiantly. She took a step doubtfully—could such a small heel possibly support someone?—and was relieved that she didn't fall and another step commenced after that, though this time she wasn't so lucky; she stumbled a couple of times, hopped around on one foot, lost her grip, and fell forwards. She didn't have to hear Kori's laughter to know that she looked like a complete fool with a red face but it certainly helped.

"That was…amusing." Kori said after a while through fits of laughter, "I am guessing that we will take the time that we do have to practise?"

"Or…I could just wear flats."

Kori gasped and her eyes widened as if the very thought was horrifying, "Friend Raven! You must not! You will be insulting such a dress if you do not wear the heels."

"Kori…" Raven replied slowly, "It's a dress. I don't think it'll mind."

"Well, if you will not consider the dress' feelings then it is your choice, but friend Raven, a dress is not a dress without heels."

Raven looked at Kori incredulously and sighed as Kori threw her the face that could get even the most evil super villain to do her bidding; that cutesy, 'please-I-swear-I-won't-ask-me-anything-from-you-ever-again' look.

"Fine. I'll wear your stupid heels."

Kori beamed, "Then it is settled, we shall be doing the practising. And please do not offend the shoes, so. They are extremely sensitive and they may wish you ill luck on your date if you insist on continuing."

She rolled her eyes in reply, "Once again, Kor, shoes are inanimate objects; they do not have feelings."

"If you insist, friend Raven." Kori replied, her tone of voice sounding not entirely convinced, "Now stand up again so we are able to commence our practising." Her voice was fluid, "Now, step once forward."

Raven obliged and took a step forward, feeling slightly stupid.

"Now, take another one…slowly. You do not need to rush." Kori said gently, "Friend Raven, I have been reading the girl magazines and they say that earth boys are susceptible to the beauty and…sexuality…" Kori said those words as if they were foreign to her, "that girls can sometimes portray and that sometimes they will…try to do the 'funny business' as Vic likes to say."

Raven poured her concentration entirely onto the slow but steady steps that she was doing and frowned. What was she getting at?

"You will be making sure that Garfield will not try to do the groping and lure you into the earth mating ritual? It is said that he does the getting around with the girls, a lot."

Raven stopped and stared at Kori, her brows rising, "No, Kor, I am not going to let him try anything with me." She said dryly and took another step forward, "He's not stupid and I'm pretty sure I'm not stupid."

"Oh." Kori replied shortly, her eyes widening, "I did not mean to say that you are unintelligent, I was just making the sure." She shrugged, "It is just that Dick and Vic wanted me to tell you this, to warn you. And yet, I feel that they can over exaggerate at times, earth boys, they always believe that we are as fragile as glass. Though I do admit that I do enjoy it when Dick does the pampering and buys me many items." She smiled, "Though that is clearly not the point."

"Right, so they basically got you to do the whole birds and the bees thing for me?"

Kori nodded and motioned for her to take quicker steps, "Yes, but I still do not understand what animals have to do with this topic. Surely birds and bees do not do the mating ritual together?"

Raven had to smile at that and she walked a bit quicker, feeling like she was getting the hang of the whole wearing heels business, "No, no they don't." She bit her lip, "I think I'm getting the hang of this, they're not so stupid, after all." She smiled and looked up at Kori because even with heels on, Kori _still _was taller than her, "You think they still ill wish me now?" Raven asked, referring to the shoes she was wearing.

Kori mock frowned, "Mmm…I do not think so. As a matter of fact, friend Raven, I think that they prefer you to me and I am thinking that I am becoming jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?" She asked dryly, "That's rich coming from a five-foot-eleven, gorgeous girl with legs that seem to never end and also with one of the richest guys—or to be richest guy—on this planet on her arms."

She shrugged in reply, "Those are extremely materialistic, friend Raven, at times I do envy you."

That caught Raven's attention as she tried to walk backwards in the heels, "Really?"

"Yes, really." Kori smiled and sat herself on her bed, her fingers tracing the flowery patterns of her blanket, "You are extremely intelligent, friend Raven, and you do know the ways of this world. Sometimes I feel like a deer caught in the headlights and I get extremely embarrassed and do the reddening when I discover that I have done something wrong…but you, friend Rave, you know the ways of this world despite the fact that you were brought up in a completely different dimension."

"You forget, Kor, my mother was—is—human and she taught me all that is to know of this world, though I admit, it was difficult for me to _really _be here than to just learn about it." She sighed, "So there really isn't anything to be jealous about."

"Well, I do admit that I have been envying the way that terran boys do not look at you like they are looking at a piece of raw Frellgark meat." Kori smiled and pointed at her chest, "I do not understand them and their fascination with the breasts, it sometimes does convince me that I am wearing an outfit that is far too revealing, yet…your planet is so hot, friend, and I do not think that I can handle wearing anymore than I do now."

Raven suddenly laughed as she took a quick glance at Kori—who was wearing her superhero costume due to the fact that Dick and her went to visit the Justice League this morning—and saw how small and revealing the costume was, and it had become even more revealing through the years as a Titan, it was still purple and she still wore those knee high boots but now it was just more cut out than ever; a deep V neck that went all the way down to her navel and it was cut out completely at the back. It was a wonder that any of the guys on the team kept a straight face around her; actually, it was a wonder that _anyone _kept a straight face around her.

"I'm sure, Kori." She smiled, "I'm sure that there isn't any reason for anyone to be staring at you." At this Kori smiled and nodded in agreement.

They stood silent for a while and a deep understanding just stood between them, something that connected them as friends—no more than that!—as sisters. There couldn't be any two who were more different to each other and yet their differences made up for each other's weaknesses and strengths. They hadn't gotten along the first few weeks that they both joined the group—well Raven refused to get along with her despite Kori's need for companionship—but they soon developed a relationship that Raven knew she would find with no other.

She sighed.

She was going to miss her when they were to go their separate ways.

"Now, friend, what are we to do with your hair?" Kori grinned in anticipation and started fiddling with her dark locks.

Raven turned to her friend and glared at her, "Kori if you even _think _of doing something to my hair, I will _actually _cook Silkie in mustard and feed him to you."

Kori's eyes widened and her green eyes glowed brighter, "Oh, friend Raven, you would not truly do that?"

Raven smirked and glanced at herself in the mirror, one of her hands subconsciously fiddling with a stray lock of hair, "Just try me."

**A/N: Wowzerssss...I cannot believe I've gotten this far, and for you guys who didn't take the hint, the next is gonna be the last chappie and I think its gonna take me a while to perfect it but I hope you guys won't be too bored of waiting and go off this ficcie. **

**So, per usual, reviews please?**

**Muchos Luvos!**

**-MonkeeNoodles**


	22. Round 2: 300 Flowers

**A/N: As you can probably tell from my long absence the last chappie was a bitch to write...and I hope it was worth it!**

**If you guys are wondering why this supposed last chappie has a chappie after this...do not worry so...the last chappie was just so frickin long (bout three times my normal chappies) that I had to cut it in half...and conveniently the other half was in Raven's point of view instead of BB's.**

**Partially inspried by the song "300 Flowers" which featured in the Cold Case episode 19 (I think!) season 3.**

**Love the song.**

**OK...warning...the characters might be a bit OOC but hey, at least I tried.**

**Another warning: Immense detail ahead...no seriously...like detail overload.**

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter 22**

The rest of the day had become a blur to Garfield; he wasn't even sure how he managed to take a shower, get dressed up, make sure he didn't smell—well he _tried _to make sure he didn't smell but the wet dog scent was _really _attached to him—sort out his hair, remember to stick on his holographic ring, brush his teeth, go to the kitchen to get a snack then brush his teeth again and finally he managed to get himself down to the Common room. He wasn't entirely sure how he got there, actually, he mildly remembered Dick and Vick dragging him by the hands and feet away from his mirror; it wasn't that he was a vain person, really, it was just that—though looking good has never really been his priority—he thought that if he put his best efforts in every aspect of the date—which of course would include his appearance—the date would go smooth sailing and Raven would finally accept his feelings and her own and at the very least _attempt_ to have a go at a relationship.

He sighed.

He felt at the leather covers of the couch he was sitting on and continued to stare at the television screen pointlessly as a marathon of the old episodes of Space Trek had been playing for the whole day. His brows contorted together as his gaze landed on a small green kid prancing around in a silver suit; was that really him? Garfield's eyes traced the boy's facial features, noting the soft pudgy cheeks, the cheesy grin and the way his pointy ears twitched every time he forgot his lines; it seemed like such a long time ago that sometimes it seemed like a completely separate life to the one he had now. Garfield scrutinised the beaming kid on the screen and was lost in thought for a while; was that kid _really _happy or was he just putting on a brave face? After all, that kid _had _just run away from the place he had called home, his acting job paid badly and he only ever managed to find shelter whenever he turned into a cat and snuck into people's houses, which in turn was _really _bad for him since he wasn't allowed to stay in his animal form for too long. He had probably been putting on a brave face—he was good at that, it seemed—and sometimes that kid still did it on some occasions; he wanted everyone to be happy and if that meant he had to mask his occasionally vengeful anger, he was fine with it…as long as everybody was happy.

Garfield raised his arm to about chest level and took a quick glance at his watch; it was about five minutes to seven and he looked at the door almost longingly, as if it would help to quicken time, and he knew that she would be here soon, this was Raven they were talking about, after all, and Raven was never late…not if she could help it anyway. His fingers traced his neckline and once again he wondered if the tie was a bit too much; he had a black tie on that was loosely knotted so that it didn't really reach his collar and his fingers twisted and turned to silky material. Dick, Vic and Garfield had been arguing about it this morning in his room and their argument conveyed a lot about their clothing tastes; Dick had insisted that he wore a bow tie—saying that a tie was too 'office-like' and not dressy enough—Vic had insisted that he wore no tie—saying that it was _too _dressy and that it wasn't right to be better dressed than his date, backing this up by saying that someone like Raven wouldn't dress up too fancily—but in the end Garfield that a loose tie would be a compromise between the two so that he looked presentable but still with an air of casualness. He had to admit, he thought that this was probably the first time he had ever thought that he actually looked put together—he never had to dress up for his other dates, he never really took them anywhere special—in his freshly ironed black trousers, his un-tucked white shirt with his sleeves rolled up halfway and his casually put together tie, he actually looked and felt pretty decent. He just hoped that Raven understood the meaning of 'dress up' and didn't appear in something that made him feel just ever so slightly overdressed.

Suddenly his ears perked up, twitching quickly as they picked up an unfamiliar sound; it sounded like heels, but it wasn't the quick, confident treading of Kori—who, he knew quite well, loved her heels and would probably try to sleep in them if she could despite the fact that she was already tall and was even taller than most guys in the heels she wore—but the footsteps were slow and steady, like the footsteps of a kid trying to learn how to walk. That was probably Raven; no one else in the Tower wore heels, unless Vic and Dick had some sort of secret fetish that had yet to be revealed.

He turned off the TV as quickly as possible, stood up, and tried to clean himself up, making sure that there weren't any wrinkles on his shirt or trousers. He let his fingers rake through his hair—making sure that it was in a perfect mess; not too messy and not too neat—and he made sure that his breath didn't smell. It was infuriating; why was it that every time he was around Raven, or was going to be around Raven, he turned into some sort of nervous wreck? Oh, he _sounded_ and _acted_ confident enough but if you listened closely to his tone of voice you would hear well hidden hesitation, or if you tried to hold his hand, you would realise that his palms were damp with sweat and if you were a doctor who owned a stethoscope, you could probably hear his heart beat an unfamiliar rhythm, as if it was going too fast with the volume on maximum. He bit his lip and watched the door like a hawk; he wasn't going to miss her entrance if it killed him.

Literally.

OK, maybe not quite literally, but close enough.

After that, everything seemed to go in slow motion; his eyes never left the spot as he watched the Common room door slide open—slowly, ever so slowly—there was a glimpse of a foot covered in black lace and a flash of red—soft, shiny, smooth—red. His eyes trailed upwards, tracing what curves she had—pausing at her chest momentarily. Hey! He was a _guy_, after all—before letting his gaze settle at her face. She was…

Raven smiled at him shyly and walked steadily towards him, her footsteps—as he predicted—were slow and sure.

…breathtaking.

She wasn't underdressed—as Vic had predicted—she was…she was…_perfect_. She had on some _killer _dress—a low cut halter neck, emphasising what cleavage she had, figure hugging and not too long yet not too short; just right, in a colour—what a colour!—that just made her look so…alive! The dark, scarlet colour added a bit of something to her extremely white skin. It contrasted with her colouring and yet it fit, it fit so perfectly.

He shook his head in disbelief.

What a colour, what a colour.

He never thought that he would see her in red; it was bold, demanding, and hungry for attention…everything that Raven was not and yet…the fluid crimson red wrapped around her like a glove fit a hand.

There was something about her face too, he realised, and he wasn't sure what it was. She just looked sure of herself, more sure of herself than he had ever seen her. He wasn't sure if it was the lip gloss making her lips even more appealing than they usually were or the fact that her lashes seemed to be longer and thicker than usual and they created a dark curtain for her deep, dark, amethyst eyes to peer alluringly—he wasn't sure if she was doing that on purpose or if it was all subconsciously done but, _boy_, did it do things to him that he wasn't sure was a good thing or not—up at him. It wasn't purely physical, he realised, there was just _something _about her that was different tonight and he wasn't sure what it was but—hell!—was she gorgeous tonight.

"Garfield, you can close your mouth now." Her voice brought him back to solid ground; low, throaty and almost sensual.

The words he meant to say were stuck in his throat and he almost choked as he tried to get them out, "You look unbelievably frickin' gorgeous tonight, babydoll." He sniffed; she smelled like cranberries, "Frickin' gorgeous."

"Well, you _did _say 'dress up' so…unless you thought that my definition of dressing up was just pairing a nicer jumper and a nicer pair of jeans then you probably think I'm a bit overdressed." Her brows were raised, as if challenging him to agree with her.

He grinned sheepishly and took in her scent once again, "Can I say it again? I mean, I swear to God, you look unbelievably gorgeous. Unbelievably frickin' _gorgeous_, babydoll."

"You don't look too bad yourself, Garfield." She smirked and his heart skipped a beat as he spotted a certain twinkle in her eye.

Was her hair darker than usual? It was dark, almost black, though in certain lighting you could see flashes of dark purple sliced into her hair and he noted that she hadn't done anything to her hair; she had just let it hang—apart from some hairs that she had arranged to become fake bangs to cover her ever-glowing chakra—naturally and it hung in wisps of extremely straight lengths. Was she growing it? It looked much longer than he remembered. He shook his head; God, he couldn't stop looking at her.

All of a sudden, he noticed something strange as his eyes traced her long and lean arms; there was still some yellowing where she got hurt from the fight with Plasmus. She still hadn't healed? It had already been two full days already and by now the bruises should've healed completely and yet the yellowing had stayed on her pallid skin to create pretty patterns upon them.

It worried him.

"Rae, are you OK? I mean your…" His gaze settled on her arms and when she realised what he was looking at, she bit her lip.

She frowned and rubbed her arms subconsciously before her violet gaze met his, "These are nothing…mere shadows of what they were before. It doesn't hurt anymore, I can barely feel them."

"How—?"

"Kori gave me the exact same look before. I'm not as fragile as I look, you know." She glared at him defiantly, a fist on her hip.

"After beating up Trigon, I would _never _say that you're fragile. Baby doll, you're powerful enough to take us all on. So…are you sure you're OK? We can always do this another…"

Raven rolled her eyes, "_Look_, Garfield, I'm fine, OK? _You _were the one who wanted this date so badly." She pointed at him accusingly, grim determination etched on her face, causing him to back away ever so slightly, "And look, I _agreed_, OK? And I never back out of a promise…_never_."

OK…so not _that _good a start to the date.

He raised his arms up to chest level, as if in defence and he smiled weakly, "OK, OK, I get it; you're _fine_." He grinned and gave her a thumbs up before offering up his arm to her, "The chit-chat's getting a bit boring, don'cha think? Let's roll, baby doll." His grin grew wider as he took a second to think about what he just said, "Hey! That rhymes!"

"Trust someone like me to be attracted to such a poet." The eye-rolling reflexes started up again and he chuckled, "You put T.S. Eliot's talents to shame." Her tone was wrapped in thick sarcasm, though instead of insulting him, he beamed even more.

"You know you love it."

He watched as she bit her lip, "Mmmhmmm…I'm sure I do."

She didn't take his arm—he got the message—she was independent, her own person and she wasn't going to depend on some green teen, even if she had known him for five years or so. They walked side by side, strolling silently as they made their way underground once more, reminding them of their last—extremely awkward and uncomfortable—date. Yet this time it felt a little different; it was more of the steady and comfortable silence that he sometimes shared with her; those rare moments that he decided that silence was golden and when she gave his company the benefit of the doubt. He smiled inwardly at the thought of his plans and he hoped that everything would go well, he was determined that everything would go well; everything was _so _carefully planned that if the date _didn't _go well then he would finally consider himself a failure.

They arrived to the end of the dark passageway carved underground to lead them towards the main city, the darkness forcing him to switch eyesight to one that was more…primal…and he shuddered slightly as he felt a slight breeze coming out of the doorway that would lead them outside. And just before the doorway was their transportation, a sleek ride that would take them to their destination; it was, _after all_, quite a long bit away from the city centre, it was more on the outskirts of their beloved city.

"A _moped_?" Raven asked, a brow rose cynically.

He beamed, "A moped."

"You want me to ride _that _to wherever we're going?" Sceptical tones dripped out of her thin lips, "In a dress?"

Garfield touched the sleek, white front of the moped lovingly as a miffed Raven crossed her arms before he handed her a matching white helmet and placing another over his own head.

"Safety first, baby doll…and you'll be fine in a dress…I mean I dunno if the dress'll be fine by the end of the ride but I'm pretty sure you will be." Her face stayed stony and he shrugged, "Was joking baby doll."

He couldn't see her face clearly through the tinted eye covers but he knew that she was probably smirking, "Strange…you do realise that, maybe, occasionally, you're actually not funny?"

"Yea, yea…stupid jokes…Dick warned me about me making them." He laughed as she smelt surprised, "Hop on."

She suddenly smelt extremely timid and cautious, "It doesn't look too safe. Are you sure you can drive this…_thing_?"

He sat down in front and urged her to sit down, "_Trust _me…you'll be fine."

He heard a sharp intake of breath and watched her as she slowly sat down behind him on the moped. He didn't look back at her but he felt her hand touch his shoulder gently—so gently that if he wasn't watching her every move he would've probably missed it—for a second and she held onto his waist warily; not too loose that she would fall off if there were unexpected bumps and lumps throughout their journey but not too tightly that she had to touch him _too _much. She was still cautious about her emotions, him and his motives—he knew—but he would wait and gradually help her come around.

"I…" She whispered so low that he didn't know if she actually wanted for him to hear, but he heard it anyway, "_trust _you." He heard her exhale before she continued; this time she spoke louder, "Let's do this, Garfield."

"Sure."

He pressed the button for the doorway and it opened, a loud _clunk_ing sound simultaneously sounding with it. His foot punched the gas—he grinned as the low purring sound filled his ears—and they were _off_. It was almost as good as flying—the wind rushed passed the, howling loudly through his ears as they sped through the traffic, various lights blurred to form straight lines and pretty patterns in different colours and there was just such a rush of uninhibited adrenaline coursing through his veins—but maybe it was even better, there was just something different to this ride than to all the other moped rides he had gone on; there was Raven's hands clutching loosely at his shirt around his waist, her nervousness emanating into his nose like an alien yet intriguing smell, and there was just something about the way her body was slightly pressed against his back and he could feel the warmth from her.

There was a sharp turn as he got drove out of the centre and towards the edge of the city and he could feel her grip tighten at his waist and her body unconsciously pressing herself even more on his back and suddenly his heart beat louder and faster; as if the adrenaline rush just from the moped ride wasn't enough but Raven's presence just made his heart beat at maximum volume…with the bass on.

From the corner of his eye, he saw their destination and he took another turn, appreciating the final gust of wind that came with the speed. As they got closer he pressed the breaks rapidly and he vaguely heard a screeching sound and whether it came from Raven or from his wheels, he wasn't so sure. Finally, he hopped off the moped, checked if the moped was scratched, and handed his hand out towards an out-of-breath Raven.

Instead of handing him her hand, she took off her helmet and shook her hair out carelessly, "I can't believe I agreed to ride with you in that _thing_…not that I had much of a choice in the first place." She rolled her eyes and there appeared that condescending look on her face that Garfield was incredibly familiar with, "Your driving skills are the equivalent to my socialising skills, Garfield." Her brow quirked incredulously as she _still _didn't accept his hand, "What is it with you and that moped, anyway?" She actually sounded sincerely curious.

"A ride's a ride, baby doll, and who wouldn't love this baby?" He stroked it lovingly, "Plus I thought you would've loved it…with this baby I could be your Italian stallion." He grinned and winked at her.

"Right…my own Italian stallion…I've always wanted one of those." Her eyes rolled by reflex but she smelt amused. He watched as she took a good look around the place and screwed up her brows, "So, where exactly are we going?" Her eyes scanned around the quiet street once more, "I've never been to this part of the city."

He smiled knowingly and shoved his hands in his pockets, "You'll see…" He stated mysteriously and grinned as her scent changed to that of frustration and curiosity.

Garfield started to walk slowly and motioned her to follow him. It was dark with a few dim street lamps lighting their way. The night was warm and humid and the air smelt like damp freshly cut grass; it was nice. He also noticed that there were a lot of couples out that night—it shouldn't be surprising, _really_, it was Saturday night after all but it was still a little weird seeing a lot of others on dates—and they were all strolling slowly, all physically connected somehow; some were holding hands, others had their arms around their partner's shoulders, others had arms around their waist, some even were holding each other by the back pocket of each other's trousers. It made him feel ever so slightly less of a man, as if the fact that he was on a date with a potential girlfriend and they were barely touching made him feel a bit self-conscious. He looked beside him and found that she too was stealing quick glances at the various couples on the street and quick glances at him, probably thinking and feeling the exact same thoughts and self-consciousness that he possessed. And yet…

"Seriously…where are we going?" She twisted one of her foot idly, "Heels are not my forte, as you can probably see."

…her company—even without them touching physically—made him extremely happy. It was as if just her being there made up for everything that the date lacked and if his senses were right, she was feeling the same too.

It helped that she _kinda_ looked_ amazing_ tonight.

As a matter of fact, she smelled amazing too…like _cranberries_.

His steps slowed down as they approached a small dimly lit building with fairy lights strewn around the windows as if it was Christmas and if you tired hard enough you could faintly hear music playing in there. It didn't look like such a fancy place but it didn't look shoddy either and he knew from his trip here the previous day—to make sure that Vic and Dick weren't bluffing about the place, they could be such jerks sometimes—that it was actually extremely cosy inside, something he hoped would help Raven open up a bit more than she had already. He hoped she liked it; 'The Dark Room' wasn't somewhere he would typically take a girl…and the name kinda sounded a little…gothic…but it wasn't like that, it wasn't like that at all, it was a fun place…well he hoped that she thought it was fun.

"'The Dark Room'?" Raven asked as they stood in front of the door, "It's not some gothic underground poetry group, is it? I mean, don't get me wrong…I love poetry…but a gothic underground group is pushing it ever so slightly." She pointed at herself with one hand as the other rested on her hip, "I may look like I enjoy these kinds of places however it doesn't exactly help with downplaying my reputation as being 'creepy'…especially after that tabloid headline claiming that I was a vampire."

He grinned and at the touch of his hand, the door opened to reveal an inviting looking night café; there was a dance floor at the centre of the café filled with various people dancing, laughing or just standing around, conversing with anyone who was next to them and around the dance floor were a lot of standalone mahogany tables accompanied by two or three matching chairs bordered with patterns made from ebony wood and at one corner of room was a food and drinks bar where they would, most obviously, go to purchase their meals. The area where the tables were situated were dimly lit, barely light enough to be able to see the other person's face but the dance floor and the stage were bathed in warm light and the contrast made the small café look positively merry yet that wasn't the thing that intrigued him—and by the look on Raven's face, her also—was the band that was currently playing and the music that they generated. Men in bowties and tuxedos played various instruments—the saxophone, the piano, the drums, the double bass—while a woman in a sparkly midnight blue dress sang in an enchantingly low voice that carried the melody throughout the room while doing it justice.

He tore his eyes away from the woman for a while and grinned at Raven, "So…whaddya think? It's kinda something, huh?"

"It's…" she pursed her lips, causing them to almost disappear, "different. A jazz club…it's intriguing."

His brow rose, "I hope that's a good thing." He took hold of her hand before dragging her to a table for two with a perfect view of the stage, "Let's sit." Almost on impulse, he pulled out her chair for her then watched as she sat down elegantly, before pushing it back in.

Garfield scurried to his own seat opposite her and coughed as her scent changed to that of someone who was _really _happy, like…_crazy _happy. Her face remained the same though; it was monotonic, almost as if she were calculating her situation and venue to see if they suited her.

"You know…you smell happy enough to make me feel a bit depressing. You should smile more…you're pretty when smile." He beamed as he saw her flush, "Not that you aren't pretty already."

She shook her head and the flush was gone immediately, replaced by a small smile, "You're just saying that to coerce me into a relationship with you." Her eyes seemed to be grinning with amusement.

"Maybe, maybe not." Garfield suddenly spotted a waiter and motioned him to come to them, "We want to order. What do you want, Raven?"

"I'll just have an ice tea with two slices of lime and _lots _of ice." Raven said to waiter as he wrote it down hastily.

"Well, I'll have an iced tea too but no lime and…" He tapped his chin in thought, "lots of sugar…lots and lots of sugar. Oh, and a salad with croutons." He added as an afterthought, "Aren't you going to eat, baby doll?"

Raven shook her head, "I'm not hungry, I ate before we left. The tea will suffice."

The waiter nodded at them and left to get their drinks and for a while silence ensued between them while 'Hit the road Jack' played in the background, causing Garfield to tap his fingers to the rhythm.

"So…how'd you find this place? I've decided that I quite like it." Raven stated, breaking the silence between them, "I like the music. I didn't know you liked jazz…I thought that you were all about trance and house and rave and whatever other nonsensical genres available…not jazz. I would've thought that you'd hate jazz, actually."

"Surprise, surprise, Rae…I quite like jazz…I mean c'mon…I love movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood and you think I wouldn't like jazz? You're smarter than this, baby doll." He teased.

"And how did you know I'd like jazz? Actually, I'm not sure even _I _knew I liked jazz until you took me here."

"It's coz I'm smart like that." He grinned jokingly, "But, seriously…I just kinda figured that you weren't really a mainstream sort of girl…I mean I knew you liked classical music, so me, Dick and Vic racked our brains to find a compromise between your love for classical music and my love for any type of music that gets my booty shaking." He laughed at the last part, "So we figured jazz would be good and since Dick has a database on every known building in Jump City, he found this place and I thought it'd be _perfect_. I mean, I didn't even know this place existed 'til Dick pointed it out to me."

"Well, you were right; I think I'm becoming more and more partial to this place." Her gaze trailed over to the impeccably dressed jazz band and her lips moved silently as he thought she was humming the words to 'Satin doll'.

Once again, the silence blanketed around both of them and Garfield took this moment to _really _look at her—something he generally didn't do quite often—and found that maybe he had been wrong, maybe she was actually every bit as stunning as Kori, just a different sort of beauty, not the commercial kind but there was just something extremely ethereal about her; well, of course there was, she was half a mythical creature after all. Raven had an extremely angular face, he realised, and everything about her was created by sharp lines and planes; she had incredibly high cheekbones—hidden a teensy bit by some excess flesh that came when you were in your teens—that cut through her face in a razor sharp manner, her nose jutted out strongly—maybe almost _too _strongly for some—yet it suited her face well, her lips were thin but they created a perfect cupid's bow—though he noted that her upper lip was ever so slightly thicker than her lower lip—and her eyes…they looked like they belonged to a predatory bird—a hawk's, maybe—as they seemed to be lifted a teensy bit upwards at the ends and they framed her haunting indigo eyes perfectly. Her mentality was quite sharp and angular too, he realised, maybe even sharper than the features on her face with her quick wit and her analytical mindset; she was quite unconventional.

"Here are your drinks, sir and madam. Enjoy." The waiter handed them their drinks, simultaneously breaking off his gaze.

"Thanks." He replied as the waiter moved away then moved his gaze back to her, "You know, I've never been called a sir before. It's quite funny."

A thick, dark brow quirked on her pale face, "It's probably because you don't act like a 'sir'." She smirked and started sipping at her iced tea, her dark gaze attaching themselves on him.

He poked his fork into his salad, "Funny." He poked a tongue out at her and she seemed amused at his manner, "You don't act so much like a 'madam' yourself."

"My social skills are lacking, I admit, however I still believe that I'm more of a madam than you will ever be a sir." She shrugged and he squirmed as those eyes never left him, "Not that I mind, mind you. I like you for who you are and maybe squirmy little Beast Boy can piss me off at times, but Garfield Logan makes up for it." The smirk appeared once more on her lips, causing him to grin.

"Oooo," he cooed, "I'm _Garfield Logan_ now, am I?" He grinned.

There was a strange look in her eyes that flashed before him but it was gone in a second, "You were always, and will always be, Garfield Logan. So," her eyes flickered between him and the table, "what do people usually do on dates? Our date was cut short so I didn't really get to feel like I was on a date…though since I haven't been on a date previously, I wouldn't really know."

"Well, usually we start off with light conversation…" he started, mock-seriousness blanketing his every word, "then we go into more _deep _and _meaningful_ ones." Garfield accompanied these words with a repertoire of speech marks formed by his fingers, "Then if you're willing, we'll probably dance." He grinned, "I'd like to see you dance…remember when we went to that underground rave with Blackfire? Well, you didn't dance…you just kinda hung around with some random emo kid exchanging what I think was your philosophy on the meaninglessness of life."

"Ha ha ha…" she rolled her eyes, her upper teeth biting her lower lip, and he watched—almost hungrily—as they dragged off her lower lip almost purposefully, "I was not exchanging life philosophies with him, we merely talked about poetry though admittedly it _was _pretty sinister poetry." The right side of her lip curled upwards and her eyes momentarily looked at the flawlessly dressed crowd dancing their hearts out on the dance floor, "And over my dead body am I dancing…especially in front of you. You'd probably roll around on the floor laughing your ass off if I even attempted to dance."

He took a bite from one of the lettuce leaves he was eating, "You know what, I am going to predict that you are an _amazing _booty shaker…just coz you deny it so strongly."

"Suit yourself." She shrugged, amusement spiking through the scent of cranberries, "Just don't go running away when you realise that the girl you took out to a jazz club can't dance…or at least dances like she belongs in a mental institute."

"You're cute when you downplay yourself, baby doll. I still think you'd be an amazing dancer, at the very least, you'd be better than me."

She laughed shortly; a low murmur or a purr coming out, sounding unfamiliar to his ears, "Somehow, since I've seen you dance on many occasions before, I don't doubt your conclusion."

"Hey! I was just saying that so I'd make you feel better! You weren't supposed to agree with me! What kind of potential girlfriend are you?" He asked, pretending to be deeply hurt by this statement.

"The kind that tells the truth and ensures that her potential partner is not disillusioned by the fact that he thinks that he is some kind of disco dancing Supreme Being."

"Disco dancing Supreme Being, huh? I quite like the sound of that." He beamed at her and watched as her face melted to mock-horror.

"You better not be getting any ideas. I will _not _be in a relationship where you insist that you are capable of enlightening every one spiritually by posing like John Travolta."

He chuckled, "So you're coming 'round to the idea of a possibility of a relationship, huh?" He grinned as she realised that he had caught her out, "I still want to try it out, just so y'know."

"I'm guessing that we're now conversing with _deep _and _meaningful _purposes?" She asked though he knew that she wasn't really expecting an answer, so he didn't reply, "I know you still want to try it out, Gar, but I'm still…considering…for lack of better word. There's something that's been bothering me though…I just don't really see what your attraction to me consists of…" If it was any other girl who had asked about this he would know in a second that they were fishing for compliments; to compliment their hair, their eyes, the way they laugh…but this was Raven who was asking and she _really _didn't seem to be the type to fish for compliments.

"Well for one thing…" he started while he laid his fork on the side of his plate absently, "you're shorter than me so that if I ever get a chance to kiss you then _I'll _be the one bending over so that I won't feel at all emasculated since—you've probably noticed—I'm not the tallest guy around."

"Real charming, Garfield." She flicked a stray lock of dark hair away from her face.

He grunted, "Hey, I wasn't finished yet so don't get your panties in a twist." She glared at him darkly and in reply he merely grinned, "Plus I think I'm actually pretty charming, thank you very much." The roll of his eyes triggered a chuckle from him, "I think you're pretty funny, actually and—"

"Wait, wait, wait…hold up." She interrupted him with a repertoire of hand motions that made him feel ever so slightly funny in the tummy, "You think I'm _funny_? Garfield, either youare _pushing_ this whole attempt to get me into a relationship to you to its limits or my previous hypothesis about you belonging to a mental asylum stands correct."

"Well, OK…you're obviously not a master of humour like myself," he paused as Raven coughed meaningfully, "_but_…you've got a different sort of funny…sarcastic funny...well it's not really sarcastic funny actually…I mean yea, you put a whole dollop of sarcasm and cynicism in your quips but it's more like…private joke funny, which is pretty funny…really."

She rested her head on a hand as the other stirred her ice tea slowly; it was quite strange having her focus on him in such a serious manner, especially with cheerful jazz music in the background, but then again it was strange just being on a date with Raven.

"You still want me to give reasons?" She didn't answer so he continued, "Well…you…you don't care what others think of you and you just be who you really are despite the whole vampire rumour some tabloids have started and, well, you _care_…you really do. What I meant to say is that you care about your friends—about us—and yea, you always try to seem so indifferent to us but then again, why else would you try to keep your Emotions in check all the time? It can't be coz you like them too much—though I really did like Happy when me and Vic popped by—you just wanna make sure that you're in control and that you won't be harming anyone." He raked a hand through his unruly hair, "And you just really make me want to be more than I already am, y'know? It's just cool sometimes to have someone that—despite the fact that everyone else thinks I'm a loser—thinks that I'm capable of being more than just a cape—y'know, figuratively…since I don't actually wear one—that I can actually be _Garfield_ frickin' _Logan_."

She frowned at that, biting one side of her lower lip gently as if she was lost in thought, "You actually make me sound like a pretty nice person." Her brows quirked; clearly amused by this.

"For the daughter of someone who's practically Satan, you are a pretty nice person, believe it or not…" he stated absently and his hand moved from his hair to his ear and the incredulous look on her face made his smile soften, "OK…so the sarcasm can be a bit thick but underneath all that you probably care for our—let's just say—family more than the rest of us put together and you are _always _there whenever one of us is in trouble…_always_. You may not actually give good—or any, as a matter of fact—advice but, y'know, just the fact that you are both physically and mentally there for each one of us just makes me smile." She was still biting her lip and the incredulous expression now had turned back into a grimace, "You're cute when you get all serious, baby doll, actually you're always cute…well except when you try to beat me to pulp…well…OK…not try…more like succeed."

Raven stayed silent for a while as she seemed to be digesting all the information that she had just received. He shook his head inwardly; why was she looking at him like that? She had a face full of concentration on, her eyes set on him like a hawk's but you could see some of her doubt by the wrinkling of her brow and the fact that she was chewing the insides of her mouth.

"I mean, yea, I understand you have some…doubts…about entering a relationship coz you don't want to get too emotionally attached coz then you might get all weird and uncontrollable and end up hurting someone…and the fact that…well…since you're not so—I'm just taking a wild guess here—emotionally in touch with yourself, you're kinda wondering whether or not being in a relationship with me would be a good idea and also the fact that dating a co-worker might not be the best idea of the bunch and might cause problems if we—knock wood—ever break up but, seriously, I just _know _that we can make this work and I'm just hoping that you realise it too because—as I've said, probably a billion times now—I really, _really_ like you and I really, _really _want to give it a go."

She smiled wistfully but worry was still etched in her eyes, "I know, and yes, you've told me at least a billion times already but I—"

"I…nothing." He grinned at the confusion on her face, "Let's dance."

Now _that _made her jaw drop, something that Garfield thought that he would never ever in his life actually see; especially when he stood up, brushed imaginary dust off his trousers, and pulled her up by the hand with such force that she almost collided into him causing her to generate an embarrassed scent.

"Dance? _Dance_? Garfield, weren't we _just_ in the middle of one of those deep and meaningful conversations that you were on about? Plus, I told you already…I can't dance." She slipped her hand away from his grip and looked up at him defiantly, clearly confused at the sudden request to dance.

He took her hand again, this time a bit roughly, and dragged her towards the dance floor where the latest song was just finishing and the newest one was to begin in a few seconds; 'Fly me to the Moon' by Frank Sinatra…it was a classic and one that sprung up fond memories in his mind, most of them involving his old team…especially Rita…he missed her actually…

Garfield shook his head and was confronted by an inquisitive look from his date as he urged her to try to move to the music a bit, but it was to no avail; she stood as stiff as a cardboard—well she looked like a pretty one in the red dress—but she was still a cardboard nevertheless.

"C'mon, baby doll, loosen up…" He took hold of her hand and attempted to twirl her but she refused as her feet were planted firmly on the ground, "One twirl? Please? For me?" He batted his eyelashes and thought that he could smell some type of amusement on her, but if it was ever there, it was gone in a second.

"Gar…" She stood still, her brows contorted together and folds of skin wrinkled together as she continued to grimace.

"What…?"

The music flowed around them like a cool breeze, "Why are we dancing?"

OK, so apart from the whole 'wanting-to-see-her-dance' thing there actually _was _a reason behind the abrupt request to dance, it was simple really; for the past couple of years—whether consciously or unconsciously—he had been observing her quietly whenever she thought that he was too distracted by video games or pranks or nonsensical things that—he knew quite clearly—she thought was a waste of time. It had been something to take his mind off things, really, something that would distract him away from the dark thoughts, the anger and the guilt that occasionally came up at the most inconvenient of times and—strange as it may sound—the things he found out about her were quite refreshing.

There was one thing that struck him as weird though; she wasn't good with confrontation. OK, so it wasn't uncommon for people to be scared of confrontation, especially people who were known to be introverted and shy. She had a…_different_…way of dealing with confrontation and it wasn't necessarily a good thing, well in his eyes anyway and long story short; she got in too deep too fast. Raven was a deep thinker who analysed everything and anything and when she was faced with a problem that she didn't have an immediate solution to…sometimes it overwhelmed her and she would have these…_moments_…where she would seclude herself and would only come out of seclusion after she had solved everything. It wasn't too good for her in the long run and the only thing that he could do was distract her; piss her off, ridicule her, do something completely stupid in order for her to berate him…well of course sometimes it wasn't only for the sake of taking her out of that situation…sometimes he_ did_ get a kick out of aggravating her.

He cocked his head innocently, "Well, we're dancing because you _really _need to loosen up." That was partially the truth of it, anyway, and simultaneously he placed one of her hands on his shoulder and the other one firmly in his grip, "May I?" His tone of voice was questioning and he was unsure if she would let him put his hand around that _really _small waist of hers.

She bit her lip for a second before nodding silently, allowing him to slip his hands onto the smooth crimson satin that laid on her waist; she knew…or at least he thought that she knew his motives. Raven was hesitant at his touch and she moved slightly away from it before stopping herself to let him hold her waist and she looked up to him, one side of her lip twitching in what he thought was an attempt to stop herself from smiling.

"This is…strange." She stated as he swung her side to side almost instinctively, "I still feel like I have two left feet, though." She accidentally tread on his toes—with her own toes, thank God! He probably would've squealed like a baby if she stepped on his toes with her heels, not to mention have them broken—and he grunted, causing her to shift her gaze from her feet to his face, "Sorry…I told you I dance like I'm insane…OK…that's a bit hyperbolic but—"

"Relax, Rae…just move vaguely from side to side and follow me." He grinned at the self-conscious look on her face as she tried to follow his instructions.

She wasn't too bad actually…she was just too unsure of herself and she kept looking down at her feet even though her date was clearly taller than her.

"Raven…I'm up here."

She cocked a brow, "Of course I know you're up there, Gar…just making sure I…you know…don't step on your toes again." Her brow stayed where it was as the music wrapped itself around them, "I underestimated you, Logan…you're not too bad."

"I try my best. Once again, courtesy of Rita…she told me that a man who can't dance isn't a man at all…I mean I'm a bit rusty but like…well…I still remember the basics." He grinned as she started to get the hang of the steps.

The music was faster now, but not too fast that Raven—who he now knew was quite a quick learner—couldn't catch up. Whether or not she knew it, her smile was growing bigger by the second and he revelled in it; it was—as he had predicted—beautiful. He twirled her around and this time she obliged and he watched at how graceful she seemed; maybe it was the dress twirling alongside with her or maybe it was the way her long arms stretched out above her elegantly as she twirled. They swung side to side almost aimlessly for a while, both just moving naturally to what they thought would best suit the music before he flung her outwards to the side and she responded by spinning back in and the weirdest thing happened; she laughed…well it was more of a giggle but it was still alien to her ears. It was still throaty and almost sensual but it was also pitched a bit higher in tone and there was a sort of syncopated rhythm to it that made it sound like it was going up and down.

"Was _that _a _giggle_?"

She smelt insulted but humoured him nevertheless, "It wasn't a giggle…merely a malfunction of my…err…vocal system." She smirked and continued to sway her hips almost playfully and twirled a finger through a lock of hair by her ear, "Yes…a malfunction."

"_Sure _it was…admit it, baby doll, that was a giggle…it was _definitely _a giggle." He watched as her hair moved in wisps, "It must be the apocalypse!" He exclaimed in exaggeration.

"I don't giggle." Raven state monotonously, "So technically it's not the apocalypse just yet."

He mock-peeked through the windows of the jazz club as if to see if there were any meteors falling from the sky and she hit him—playfully, he hoped—before he grinned childishly at her. He was actually having fun…and by the way her scent was; she was too. Whenever the music sped up, she would toss her head in exhilaration, sending her luscious locks flowing in different directions and though she denied it, bursts of laughter came out of her lips randomly and there was a twinkle in her eye that just seemed mischievous to him.

Suddenly the music changed and it slowed down to a three beat tempo and he knew from the moment the notes started playing that it was '300 Flowers' a song that his mum used to sing to herself and—weirdly—a favourite of Rita. The melody was sweet and unhurried and the words were filled with both love and bitterness; it was a beautiful song…a haunting song…it echoed so much of the past that his heart clenched at hearing it.

He sighed.

Garfield felt Raven's small, warm hands slip out of his grip gently as if she knew how he was feeling.

"Not yet?" He asked, referring to the slow dance that would have to accompany to slow music.

She gave him a meaningful look and slipped her left hand from his shoulder, "Not yet." She smiled sadly and she turned to head back to their table, urging him to follow her.

He paused for a while and she seemed to sense this as she too stopped, "Too early?"

He thought he could hear her smirk as she turned to look back at him, "Too early." With that she walked elegantly back to their table and seated herself; holding up herself like a queen.

She was a challenge—he had to admit—but for once, he didn't really mind being faced with a challenge…especially if that challenge involved an amethyst-eyed raven.

**A/N: Of course this is only the end of the first part of the last chappie, silly...I wouldn't leave it hanging off like this...would I?**

**:grin:**

**Continue reading sil vous plait!**


	23. Round 2: Hands on me

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A/N: Hardy har har...ze finale is here!

**:cackles maniacally:**

**Warning: Once again...ze OOC might strike in this chappie and it might not be too pleasant (no flames abnout it...please?)**

**Also...partially inspired by "Hands on me" by Vanessa Carlton...beautiful song!**

**Read and enjoy please!**

**Chapter 22 (continued)**

Raven sat herself back down on the cushioned seat, hoping that the heat from her skin would dissipate in seconds but to no avail the heat lingered on until Garfield had decided to walk away from the intimidating dance floor and move back to where they were originally situated.

Her glass was still there though now it was half empty with most of the ice melted, causing it to dilute the ice tea even more than it was before; she longed for a cup of steaming hot bitter tea that was always available back in the Tower but despite her hopes that the summer would cool down soon, the summer nights weren't at all comfortable save for the occasional fresh breeze that came around every so often.

She took a quick glance at the dance floor and smiled wistfully, she actually _did _have fun out there on that treacherous thing they called the dance floor…it was a whole new experience and she revelled in it; no one had taken her out dancing before…well, there was that underground rave that Blackfire had taken them to once but that was different, that was like being a small fish in a humongous pond but this was…this was—admittedly—nice. It was awkward at first—well, of course it was awkward…she had never felt the need to dance before in her life—and the steps took some time to learn—as evidenced by the fact that she stepped on Garfield's toes a couple of times—but after a while you just stopped thinking about how much of a moron you looked like and just moved to the music; the twirls, the swirls, the steps, the spins!

It was just _exhilarating_.

"Admit it Raven," he laughed and Raven noted that his fangs were missing, "You were having fun."

Raven had understood, of course, why he had decided to take her out on the dance floor and she understood that though it didn't seem to be too tactful, he had done it in the past as well. He probably didn't know that she knew it to the full extent but then again whenever he thought that she was too distracted—with her reading huge novels, writing huge essays for her courses, or even meditating—she watched him with an eye that knew wouldn't miss any details. From watching him in the past couple of years she found out about his odd habits and how he would handle his own emotions and there was just something funny about him that she couldn't place back then; he felt like he _needed _to help others and to be there for them, to make them happy. At first it didn't have _anything _to do with sincerity and she knew that he was doing it all selfishly—he had been trying to prove something to someone and though she had her suspicions that he was trying to prove himself to the shadow that was Mento, she never really understood _what _he was trying to prove to Mento. Was it that he was worthy to be on the Teen Titans and if the time came he would be capable to rejoin the Doom Patrol? Or was it that he was officially declaring that he was able to be independent away from his father figure? Did he just trying to make everyone happy to prove to Mento that he was capable of doing things without screwing things up?—but then it slowly changed into something less…self-centred. It was gradual but it came anyway and slowly she had discovered that his sincerity in trying to help others had even extended to her—the girl who constantly pushed everyone away in fear that she would form attachments to them—which was really weird considering the fact that she never really paid that much attention to him until the most recent years.

"You will never _ever _hear me again but…" She let her fingers trace circles on the table, "yes, I did have fun."

He laughed and pointed at her accusingly, "Aha! I knew it! I knew you weren't prone to the magic of dancing! I knew you'd have fun! And with _me_ as well!" He grinned almost insanely as she crossed her arms in mock indignation.

"Don't push it, Garfield…its bad enough that you actually got me on the dance floor…didn't I warn you that I can't dance?" Her fingers continued to trace the pattern on the table and she looked up at him and smirked, "You're lucky that I stepped on your toes with my own toes or all hell would probably break loose."

Her smirk grew larger as he made a face at her, conveying his 'pleasure' at finding out that she _only _stepped on his toes with her own toes but seriously, he should've been truly grateful; Kori's shoes had the sharpest stilettos she had ever known in her life…but then again…that wasn't saying much since she only really owned three or four pairs of shoes.

She watched silently as he picked up from where he left off prior to their dancing and started eating his salad, taking special care to make sure that the croutons didn't fall onto the ground, "Want some?" He offered and held out his fork to her.

"No." She rolled her eyes as she pushed the plate away from her causing him to shrug and stuff himself once more, "Not too partial too salads, actually…I mean a Caesar salad would be nice but…" Her words trailed off as his eyes widened in what seemed to be horror.

"A Caesar salad!? But that thing has _chicken_ in it…I mean…who would eat a chicken!?"

She bit her lower lip in effort to suppress a grin, "Normal people, _apparently_. I mean…face the facts Garfield…chicken is good for you…I mean, I don't understand the details of it all but I'm pretty sure it has a lot of protein and…such." He made another—extremely unattractive—face to display his disgust, "Don't get me wrong…I respect your beliefs in being a vegetarian but don't you get curious sometimes?"

He shrugged and looked down solemnly at his own salad, sighing heavily, "Sometimes…yea…especially right after missions where I turn into a carnivore…it's not that easy but if I don't fight it then why bother fighting crime? If I can't fight off my own…_urges_, I guess… then why the hell would I try to fight others?"

Her brows quirked and she felt a surge of passion emerge from him, causing her to inhale sharply at how intense it was and she realised that they weren't really talking about chicken.

Were they?

He confused her sometimes, a puzzle that would probably never be completed…well…not completely anyway. He was like—what was he like?—she wasn't actually sure what he was truly like, how his mentality was and here she was sitting across him—with her arms crossed in front of her, laid on the table causally, leaning forward ever so slightly as she listened to him go on about animal abuse, the benefits of being a vegetarian and how it generally felt like when he transformed into a chicken—considering the possibility of entering a relationship with him. She was _seriously _considering it too despite the fact that if reporters had asked her if she would like to go out with him four years ago then she would have firmly said no, probably including something like 'When hell freezes over' or 'Yes, when you grow a brain'.

It was funny how things had changed.

"…and so…yea, basically…I think that you should totally consider turning vegetarian…I mean…all the tofu you can eat, right?" There was something in his tone of that kept her listening despite the fact that she had no plans on turning vegetarian any time soon, there was just…she didn't know…a spark, perhaps, "So, yea…wow…that was a long rant." He grinned sheepishly.

A wry smile appeared on her lips, "That was actually very…_thought provoking_ of you, Garfield…I never thought of those things that way." His grin grew larger by the second and she felt a flush appear on her cheeks, "You talk like it means a lot to you…you should be an activist supporting animal rights or something when we…retire…in a sense. Green Peace maybe?"

"Nah…well…maybe…" He shrugged as he placed the last lettuce leaf into his mouth, "First things first though…I wanna do a zoology major…if I pass high school of course…" She threw him a glare and the grin turned sheepish once more, "What!? It's not like I can see into the future and guarantee that I get my high school diploma and all."

"You know if you'd just stop playing the GameStation so much than you might actually have a chance of getting good scores."

His eyes widened, "But…I love the GameStation…baby doll how can you say such a thing?" He probably noticed the sardonic look on his face when he laughed, "I'm kidding…you're probably right but you know I'd probably never do that even if I tried."

She shrugged in reply, not denying it but he still maintained his sheepish demeanour though, as if he was unsure on whether to be the cocky little jerk he sometimes was or to be humble and just let her comment slide.

"So, like…yea…I dunno…I want to do a zoology major because...one…I _do_ have a brain," He tapped his head as if to emphasise this point, "and two I actually like the subject, it's interesting how everything works out, y'know? How _I _work out…So yea, where was I? Oh, yea…" She watched as his fingers dreagged across the mass of golden blonde hair, "I don't want be a zoologist though…while I'm in uni and all I wanna try out my hand at acting…you never know, I might make it big." His eyes sparkled at the last sentence and she watched; mesmerised, as the inky blue eyes grew solid for half a second, "What about you, what're your plans for…y'know…_after_?" The last word was an almost whisper, as if he was frightened by the aspect of it.

She shuddered as he spoke the last word…'after'…how she dreaded it but she couldn't avoid it entirely either and she hadn't, not really anyway…she had confronted it as best as she could and had actually started planning on what to do once she…once they…once 'after' happened. It was hard on her—though she didn't doubt that it was equally hard for her team mates too—and she thought that Garfield must've sensed something from her as he laid his warm, calloused hand on top of her own.

"Once this _dreadful _course is out of the way," she began, referring to her literature course, "I'm going to try myself out as a journalist…start out small. I mean, I'm actually not too ambitious in what I want to do in the future but I do want to try my hand at writing a novel."

"That'd be so cool, baby doll! You could write a genius novel and I could star in the movie adaptation of it!"

She cocked a brow at him, "But movie adaptations…to put it blatantly…suck."

"They do not! Look at how good 'The Da Vinci Code' turned out."

"Says a lot about your tastes…it was…_revolting_…to say the least."

"Well potato tomato baby doll."

Raven paused and stared at him for a moment before breathing out a laugh. He looked confused for a moment and she could feel his bewilderment at the cause of her laugh pressing upon her like the touch of skin to skin and she had a feeling that she was a bit out of character at the moment but she _really _couldn't help it; he had actually—accidentally, of course—been funny.

"That was actually pretty funny, Gar. You've improved."

The confusion was there and she had to place her fingers strategically over her lips to prevent herself from laughing, "What!? What did I say?" He shook his head and scratched an ear, "No, seriously, what did I say?"

She smiled with so much sweetness that it was almost saccharine but it was worth it since it brought upon even more questions from him and frustration from the fact that she had laughed at what he had said for once in her life and he didn't even know what he had said.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a waiter and motioned for him to come to their table, "It's getting late…we should get going before Dick and Vic start worrying about what the hell you're doing to me." A grin formed on her thin lips as his jaw dropped, "Kori told me that they were planning on talking to you about it…I find it pretty…_amusing_."

"The fact that they thought that I'd jump you on our second date? More like annoying." He frowned and his forehead created folds that seemed unrecognisable to her, "I can't believe they would think that, it's like they think I'm a total man-hoe or something."

He absent-mindedly paid for their drinks while muttering dark statements about his best friends and she couldn't help but find it all a bit interesting. It wasn't that Garfield found it all a bit offensive—no, that was just typical of him—but it was the fact that she hadn't really understood the extent of Vic and Dick's brotherly affection towards her; they cared for her so much that they actually went as far as warn Garfield off, Garfield who was practically their best friend! She also noted that they probably wouldn't have even bothered warning him off if they hadn't known that she was actually considering with quite a high level of seriousness which also lead to another conclusion that they had been watching over her for quite a while, probably wondering what the strange events happening between her and Garfield would lead to…or even if it would actually lead to anything at all. Raven sighed heavily and was grateful for having people like Vic and Dick around her, even if their company could sometimes prove to be a bit overbearing.

They left the jazz club after that—though Garfield had paused to snigger at the doorman bowing to them, telling them that he hopes that the couple had a good night and will continue to do so—and right after they had gone out of the door, she paused for a while to gaze at the mysterious little lounge that they had just left from and concluded that so far, she was enjoying herself and maybe…maybe…maybe she was reconsidering her doubts about being in a relationship with Garfield…maybe it was exactly what she needed, some type of emotional reassurance that would be a constant in her life. Yet…just the whole idea of affection and love and relationships and whatnot conflicted with her values and beliefs; she was no-nonsense about everything and every single situation had to be analysed logically and with reason or else it didn't make much sense to her and so she was still left with an odd sort of tug-of-war that left her wanting to stay completely neutral and…content.

But was she content? Did she really want to stay in the middle? Didn't she want to be proactive for once in her life?

"You liked the place baby doll." It wasn't a question.

She smiled and looked up at him to find his gaze back at the place too, "Yea…there was just something…"

He nodded in agreement, "There was something." He didn't specify what that 'something' was.

She turned back to look forwards and slowly walked towards where she thought the moped was parked, a shudder rolling down her spine; it was cold…she had never really stayed up this late so she didn't really know that summer nights got this cold. It was dark except for a few dim street lights that looked like they could fuse out in a few seconds and she could barely see the pavement that she was stepping on with her uncomfortable stiletto shoes and the fact that she couldn't see so well just made her other senses go berserk; she could smell the bitterness of the city air, her hair stood on its ends as a gust of cool breeze flew past her and their footsteps sounded loud to her ears, the constant _thump-thump_ pounding in her ears like a steady drum beat that wouldn't cease to pound. The thing that made her senses most berserk was just the presence of…him. There was warmth at how close he was walking next to her, the mist that came out of his lips as he breathed the cool night air and his emotions were just so jumbled up that it was extremely difficult to pick them out individually, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to pick them out individually for fear of what she might find lurking there in the heart of someone who she thought she knew quite well but had found out that it was quite the opposite, really.

Slowly she felt the physical touch of his fingers gently prod at her hand but she was hit by a nausea of hesitation as he took his hand away from hers and stuffed them in his pockets roughly, his emotions equally turning quite gruff with uncertainty and longing.

Raven wasn't prepared for this, she knew, she probably had never and will never be prepared for something like this and her upbringing probably had something to do with it, just like everyone else's upbringings affected them. Yet…how was someone who had always been approached with caution ever understand what it was like to care for someone other than herself? Even her mother—she duly admitted—was reluctant in showing that she loved her own daughter; out of fear, out of caution of what will be or maybe even out of guilt…she didn't know for sure but…she shook her head and bit her lower lip simultaneously…in any case it didn't help, not that she expected it to help…

His fingers touched her own once more and this time they ventured more boldly, though he still didn't take her hand into his own even with his urge to do so was burning her senses. Raven suddenly realised something; he was asking for her permission as he probably knew that she was reluctant to physical touch, unsure on whether or not she wanted it. Raven bit her lip before subconsciously letting her fingers respond to his own, touching the tips of his rough fingers gently as if she were petting a volatile snake that hadn't had a meal in an extremely long time.

There was a certain air of surprise radiating from him but it was accompanied by a giddy sort of happiness, so childlike that it bordered on the line of cute and sickening, but she decided that she would accept the happiness as something that was adorable and so very _innocent_ and she smiled at that thought…innocence wasn't something that was seen in the world they currently lived in right now and just a glimpse of it always put some sort of hope in her that caused her heart to tighten with fervour and protectiveness and strangely…peace.

It was like they were flirting, actually, though flirting physically…and only through their hands and fingers as they roamed at the planes of the other person's hand with a sort of curiosity that Raven didn't feel that often and it was strange because though their fingers initiated contact they were both still reluctant to grasp each other's hands; she traced his middle finger with her index finger slowly, he drew steady patterns on her palm causing tickling sensations, she pressed her fingers to the back of his hand and dragged her fingers down, he used his fingers to trace U's in between her fingers and she stroked his thumb lightly, and this was all commencing in silence, which made the occasion even more...even more…

…wow.

There wasn't even a real word for it; just the feel of his fingers caused shivers to run down her spine and that was ridiculous, of course, because there wasn't anything different with his touch than with any others but there_ really_ was. It was illogical! It was…it was nice.

Their fingers continued to dance with each other and every time they touched it progressed in bolder moves but they still did not hold hands, it was like one of them was waiting for the other to make a move and despite Garfield's boasts of being the Casanova of the 21st century, he still didn't make a move to hold her hand, he still reached out to her but he held back.

A sudden realisation came to her that caused her to laugh inwardly, amused at such a concept; the way their hands touched could almost be a metaphorical interpretation of the relationship that she had with the guy standing next to her. They touched each other's lives in different ways that couldn't be explained, causing sensations that were foreign to both of them but at the same time familiar to them and wanting more…wanting that strange effect that came out of being in each other's lives whether for the good, the bad or for the weird and wonderful things that come out of it. They knew each other well but at the same time they didn't know each other at all and they were still discovering the quirks and the habits, the thoughts and mentality, the planes and surfaces that seemed superficial but really weren't.

As they walked she felt his hand come closer to hers, radiating a heat in which she was unfamiliar with and it came closer and closer still—as if in slow motion—and her hand mirrored his hand's movements, almost coming closer in contact with his. She felt her breath get stuck in her throat even though she wasn't sure why she was feeling like that when suddenly, their hands lay flat against each other—skin on skin, rough on smooth, large on small, delicate on clumsy, green (she imagined in her mind) on ivory-grey—and his fingers moved to clasp her hand, filling in all the gaps between her fingers with his own, sliding them slowly as if he was careful not to startle her. As his fingers finally fully clutched at her hand through the gaps, she felt her own fingers—as if on their own accord—slowly clutched his own hand, also through the in-between spaces of his fingers.

At that moment she looked up at him and found that he was doing the exact same; inky blue eyes bored into her own oddly coloured ones and there was just a…_spark_…that caused her to flinch away from his gaze. Raven felt a flush of colour bloom on her pale cheeks and her left hand cover her mouth subconsciously, her teeth chewing at the innards of her mouth behind her hand. From what she could grasp, his emotions were darting from side to side, from one extreme to another and it affected her own emotions to mirror his; who knew that just holding hands could spur such reactions?

"Your hand is warm." Garfield grinned sheepishly, breaking the silence.

She exhaled heavily and continued to walk, the uneven concrete pavement occasionally causing her to hobble around, "So are yours." She felt his index finger move up and down to stroke her own index finger, "I had a—surprise, surprise—great time tonight."

"I hope you did, took me two million years just setting this all up, y'know?"

"Setting what all up?" She asked wryly, a brow rose, "I'm pretty sure that place didn't need reservations."

The sheepish expression came back again, "Well…yea…I guess…but…I _did_ get all cleaned up for you." He grinned.

"Well, you had to get cleaned up _sometime_, Gar."

"Aw, I'm hurt, baby doll." He threw her a mock-insulted expression, "I bet your favourite song was 'Am I blue?'!"

"That song was good but I preferred another song…" Her words trailed off as she realised that his grip had become tighter.

"Which one was that? I thought that 'Fly me to the Moon' was the best…I mean, seriously…_classic_."

"Hmmm…I liked…you know that song?" She searched her brain for the right title, "You know…" she bit her lip impatiently as he chuckled, "that _song_. '300 Flowers'…that song was…beautiful." She breathed the last word out, "Beautiful song."

A shot of surprise surged through Garfield, causing her mind to sting sharply and she threw him a worried look, "Are you OK?"

He shrugged it off as if he was feeling content with his situation, "Don't worry bout it…I'm fine…just didn't think that you'd be the type to like that song."

"You obviously don't know me well enough."

He grinned, his mischievous nature shining through his eyes, "Or maybe I need to spend more time with you." He nudged her softly.

She looked up and spotted a few stars in the sky, decorating the dark, inky mantle like expensive sequins and the sky was clear with no cloud in sight. She wondered if it was just her imagination but she was _sure _that the night had suddenly become a tad warmer than it was before.

"I like your company." She stated shortly, "Despite your obvious shortcomings."

"Raven…" The fact that she was referred to by her first name was quite significant in itself and it made her look at him, "We…you…don't have to do this now…"

"Do what?" She teased uncharacteristically and batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Do…" He shook his head and she waited for him to continue, but instead his shoulders just sagged, "never mind…what were you sayin', baby doll?"

"Your company…I enjoy it." She smiled reflectively and looked down at her feet, "You piss me off, you're annoying, immature, your taste in music is questionable, your lack of reading makes me question whether or not you're really literate, your bad jokes can sometimes make me feel a little sick in the stomach and your lack of seriousness when we face an opponent sometimes makes me wonder whether or not you realise that we might actually die on one of these mission…and yet I enjoy your company." She kicked a pebble on the pavement, "You're an interesting character, Gar."

He stayed silent; his face also looked down on the ground as they walked in their slow pace.

"But sometimes you're different…the way you express things, the passion you have for life and the things you've told me…sometimes it makes me wonder if I'm really talking about the same person. An interesting character, to say the least."

"You make me sound like some really weird animal species that has only been recently discovered, Rae."

She shrugged, "That's a great analogy and…maybe you're right…I mean there are so many sides to you that it isn't even funny." She let her shoulders slump, "It's even stranger that despite the fact that I don't know every single aspect of you, I like you…I actually _like _you…but I don't know…maybe I always knew there was something behind that superficial cover of yours in the back of my head but I never acknowledged it. I'm glad I do now."

His grip on her hand tightened but they relaxed after a short while.

"I do think about it…about whether or not I should consider a relationship with you…I _know _that you know I think about it…and there are so many negative aspects to a relationship with you that I sometimes wonder whether I should've even agreed to go on this date with you." Her left hand kept a lock of hair away from her face, "But there are positives too…but the positives are so few that I risking it might be too much for…for me, I guess…but it'll affect the team too if the cons overcome the pros."

They paused at a zebra cross and she glanced quickly at the pedestrian traffic light; the red light flashed in the form of a man standing stock still. It would take a while for the red light to turn green and so she took this opportunity to look him in the eyes and converse in a civilised manner.

He rubbed his brow and shook his head, "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't start up a relationship."

"Well, for one thing…we're too different…we don't even like the same things and how would we form a relationship on a basis that had no similarities?"

"We both like jazz." He pointed out shortly.

"Well, OK, we both like jazz but that's being a bit superficial…" She looked him in the eyes and found that if she looked hard enough, she could see remnants of his emerald eyes behind the mask of inky midnight blue, "Also…I might become too emotionally uncontrollable and I can't have that…it'll endanger everyone…all of you…it'll endanger _you_."

"I think we're big kids now, Raven, I'm pretty sure we can take care of ourselves."

"My powers still derive from darkness…from the demon part of me and I can't get rid of that…it's a part of me and without it I wouldn't _be _the Raven we all know today. Thirdly, I'm too attached to everyone—though I hate admitting it—and if our relationship breaks down, all my other relationships with the others will be strained with tension because they're _all _attached to you too and I don't know if I'll be able to handle losing a family in…_that_ way." She whispered the last two words and closed her eyes for a brief second.

Garfield took her other hand too now and raised them up to about chest level, "Raven, this is all…" he seemed to struggle with his words, "this is all…_not _about you…all the reasons you're telling me? They all have something to do with other people…what do _you _want? You can't tell me that there isn't _some _really selfish part of you that wants to be with me as badly as I want to be with you."

She flustered and released her hands from his hold, keeping them at her side sternly, like the man in the traffic light. She bit her lower lip and dragged them slowly off as she thought about what she was going to say. If all went the way she wanted, they would both feel changed and yet she didn't know in what way they would both be changed. The only thing she really feared is if he decided to be indifferent…_that _would be the most painful thing that she'd have to experience; she could just imagine it in her mind now, replaying over and over again.

No, they would change…they would _both _change…

…they had to.

"Gar…" Raven started but then stopped, "I…"

He raked a solid hand through his mass of golden hair, "Raven…you _think _too much…this isn't a situation where you have to _think_, you just need to…I dunno…I guess you just need to _feel_. This isn't about your thoughts and your analytical deliberation. It's about your feelings, and Rae…I know how hard it is for you to deal with those feelings but…" his hands moved to his ears, "but if you didn't have all these doubts and these thoughts, what would you say? Would you say that you would take the risk and date me?"

She closed her eyes, "Yes." She answered without hesitation.

Raven fingered her red dress harmlessly, feeling the soft and silky fabric between her fingers and it was cold…the fabric was cold. Just like the air around her, just like her own hands.

"Listen, Rae…" he grabbed her right hand and let it settle on his chest, "Can you feel it?"

She could too, through the mass of white fabric; she could feel his heart thumping unnaturally, as if it had suddenly decided to accelerate. The _thumps _were hard and fast with no specific rhythm to it…it was syncopated. Each stress of the heart was like a wordless emotion and it spoke to her, the way all emotions did; did she really cause it?

She nodded.

"_That _is caused by you…that really weird way my heart is beating now? That's _you_." He grimaced and put his hand over her hand, "Look, I know that you like me and I _really _like you and together…I don't know…I think it'll be somethin' special, y'know?" His breathing was heavy now and his chest rose with each and every breath, "If you don't believe me…or, I guess…every time you lose your belief in the fact that I like you…all you need to do is put your hand on me…right here…" He tapped his fingers against the back of her hand that was on his chest, "I'm not exactly 'prince charming'," his fingers moved to make speech marks, "but I'll try my best, y'know? I know I can be all those things you said about me and more and the fact that I haven't had the best track record when it comes to girls…"

Raven silently thought about this and concluded that he had one girlfriend turned out traitor then turned into stone, a girl who knew about his powers—Jill, was it?—from his old school but her father objected with their relationship, and a string of other girls that he only ever had two or three dates with—tops!—and some—she thought, though she wasn't too sure since she never went out at night with him before their first date—he just made out with when he was completely wasted. So, in conclusion, most of his relationships hadn't lasted too long.

"…but I just have this really funny feeling that with you it's gonna be different with you…you're just…I dunno…there isn't really a word for it." He grinned earnestly, "And OK, we have our differences? Who doesn't? And we don't really get along too well…but that can be changed…well…maybe not but…you know what I mean." The words were spiked with frustration and eagerness, "Plus opposites attract and we're as opposite as can be." He winked at her and grinned, the serious façade disappearing slowly.

A gust of wind breezed through her hair, causing it to momentarily cover her eyes, the eyes that she knew were scrutinising the creature that stood in front of her. He was smiling softly—a smile she had never seen before on his lips—his hair was messed up—but in a good way—his broad shoulders sagged and his impish blue eyes were a little sad around the corners. _That _made her wonder once more about her decision, that and the fact that her fingers were still on his chest, feeling the strange pounding of his heart.

Slowly, Raven slipped her fingers off his chest, dragging his white shirt gently so it made creases on his shirt, like ripples of the ocean. The empty street suddenly sounded extremely loud, like there were more people waiting at the zebra cross for the light to turn green, and yet there was no one there apart from them. Her heart clenched tightly and the words she was about to say got caught in her throat as if refusing to be let out, just in case the consequences didn't turn out so well.

"Gar…" Her mouth suddenly felt dry but she had to say it! She had to!

Without thinking, her hands slowly moved to touch his left cheek and by the look on his face, he seemed surprised by her actions, and to be completely honest, she was too…she was never forward when it came to expressing herself, but she felt that what she did was right at the time. His cheek was cold and with her small fingers she could feel the slight stubble that she didn't expect to be there; he had grown up—he was admittedly still a year younger than her—but he had grown up and he was becoming somebody as complex as she was but she thought that she'd have fun trying to figure him out if she gave him the chance and maybe he'd take her out of the protective shell that she liked to keep herself in.

"I'm not like other girls, Gar—"

"I'm not telling you to be like other girls, Rae…"

She shook her head, indicating that she didn't want to be interrupted, "I've probably pointed this out to you already but I don't respond to emotions the way others do, I prefer to be left alone than to be in the company of someone else and physical contact isn't something I find pleasure in." Raven glanced at the hand that was still on his cheek, "You on the other hand are writhe with emotions, making my empathic powers explode every time I'm near you and you love your company…you live for people…I can see that now…and you need to be touched…you need to know that someone is there for you…both physically and mentally."

She breathed a heavy sigh before continuing.

"So, we're the complete opposite to each other and for Azar knows what reason, we're attracted to each other. And the strangest thing is that we don't get along—at all, might I add—and we know it and yet we're still considering the prospect of a relationship. Strange how things turn out, yes?" He nodded slowly and her hand moved with his face, "And yet…"

He looked at her expectantly, impatient to know her answer, whatever it turned out to be and she could sense it…by Azar she could sense it…and it was strange because as soon as she scoped out how he was feeling, she realised that she was feeling the same; she wanted to tell him her answer as soon as possible.

"And yet…?"

She shook her head, smiling slightly, "Clearly I have gone completely insane but…" She paused, trying to figure out how to word it, "…but I…I…maybe it _is _possible to make it work without screwing everything all up. Maybe…no…positively…I want to take the chance."

"You…what!?" His eyes widened in shock…_clearly_ he had been expecting a completely different answer.

Raven rolled her eyes in reply, "I want to try it…maybe it won't end as well as I want it to and that's always a risk but…I like you too and I thought about the words that you told me on the day that you told me you liked me…carpe diem, you said…and before it was always a nonsensical motto that was completely ridiculous to me but…but I think for once I might want to…you know…carpe diem…and I guess the moment's now." She inhaled sharply, "To put it in terms that you'd understand…I like you and I'd like to…I'd like to try to see how things work out."

He looked at her in wonder and she watched as his lips curled—and continued to curl—until his small smile had turned into a full-fledged grin. His emotions suddenly burst into a waterfall of happiness and it took some effort for her not to stagger by the sheer force of it and…and there was a tiny trickle of affection in it, sewn delicately between the large layers of joy. His eyes shone with euphoria and the fact that his jaw dropped just added to the whole effect; he was happy, and he was happy because of _her_.

"Baby doll…are you serious…you're not joking, right? Because…well…shit! Oh my God…Rae…baby doll. Are you sure I'm not dreaming? Pinch me…no seriously…pinch me…" he slapped his own hand over the hand that was touching his cheek and she could feel warmth bloom suddenly over her fingertips, "No…I'm being totally serious…shit! You just told me that you're going to officially date me…you just…I must be dreaming…this must be too good…I probably ate some of that blue stuff Kori left in the—!"

She smiled and on a whim raised herself up by her tip toes and before she realised what exactly she was doing, she brushed her lips lightly against his; so light that if he wasn't so concentrated on her then her kiss would probably have gone unnoticed by him. His lips were warm and soft and they just felt…_right _against her own and if his emotions were completely wild before when she agreed, his emotions right now were just…_extreme_. Before he could respond to her kiss, she lowered herself and found herself looking down on the floor timidly, just realising the extent to her actions; it was a mere brush on the lips, barely a kiss, but it was enough to ignite some intense emotions from both of them.

Garfield shook his head and his eyes widened so much that she expected his eyeballs to fall out.

"Holy mother of—!"

Suddenly a strange _beep_ing noise was heard, causing them to both look up to see where it had come from; the pedestrian traffic light had turned into a running green man accompanying the infuriating sound. They glanced at each other like two people who had never seen a traffic light before and they both weren't really sure what to do—though it was pretty obvious since the moped was across the street—and it was like their feet were stuck on the uneven pavement below them.

"So…" Raven started though the fact that the beeping kept interjected her thoughts didn't really help much; the overflow of Garfield's words before had caused a major headache and the traffic light had just made it worse, "What do we do now?" She wasn't really sure whether she was referring to the traffic light or to their relationship, really.

"Cross the road silly!" He grinned and winked at her, causing confusion; was he _seriously _talking about crossing the road?

She watched silently—a smirk gracing her face—while he ran across the zebra crossing, roaring with laughter and euphoria, literally lighting up the dark street with his happiness. As he realised that she hadn't yet followed, he paused and motioned her to come join him.

"C'mon, baby doll! Hurry before the red man comes back!" He exclaimed, pointing at the flashing green man, "Hurry, Rae!" Both his hands were doing really weird bizarre repertoires now, "Run!"

"I can't run in these damn heels!" She shouted back at him, her feet firmly attached to the spot.

He groaned, "Take them off and _run_!" He was so silly at the moment that she couldn't help but laugh, "We can still beat the green man if you do it quick enough!"

"OK, OK!" Raven chuckled.

She slipped off the heels and placed them in her left hand, carrying them by the straps. She paused while feeling the bumpy and _really _gravelly ground beneath her bare feet; how the hell did she get convinced to do this?

He was still making those ridiculous hand signals and the silly grin was still on his face; so childlike and innocent and a tad immature, she had to admit. With her heart pumping with adrenaline for no apparent reason and a small smile on her lips, she ran as quickly as she could and felt her red dress caress her legs roughly, the wind blow through her hair erratically and the numbness of the soles of her feet when she realised that running barefoot wasn't all too comfortable.

He grabbed her free hand and smiled at her, that very same smile that was she found odd; a small smile, a private smile.

He laughed giddily once more, "C'mon baby doll!" His grip grew tighter and she looked up at him incredulously.

"Come on…where exactly?"

"God knows!" His eyes danced mischievously, "If we can make it across the road on time then we can make it _anywhere_!"

"You're really strange, you know?" He smiled as she said that, as if to say that he knew it already, "Well…what exactly are you waiting for then, Gar? We don't have that much time." Once again, she wasn't sure what she was referring to.

"Now you're talking!"

He tugged at her hand and with that they both ran across the street, as fast as they could, as if there was nothing else around them. Once they reached the other side, Raven looked backed with a sense of achievement though she wasn't sure what exactly she had achieved or if she had achieved anything at all. The other side looked so far across now and that was ridiculous because she knew it couldn't be any more than a couple of metres apart but it really _did _look quite far. She hugged herself and found that she was breathing heavily, as if she had just done a major sprint or something similar, and found that her heart was beating fiercely with the odd syncopated beat that she felt from Garfield before. Her fingers traced her hairline and she found that her faux fringe had messed up and that her chakra was now revealed, but for some odd reason, she didn't particularly care.

"It seems that we've beaten the green man." She stated shortly as her gaze fell on the traffic light, only to see the red man come back, standing stoically in its place.

Garfield was panting, she noted, but it didn't interfere with the elated look on her face, "Yea, baby doll, we did." He beamed, "Doesn't it feel great?"

"Yea, strangely it does…" She looked at him, "This means we can go anywhere, right?"

He smiled softly and placed a hand gently on her shoulder to support himself, "Yea…yea it does."

Her smile mirrored his and she noted that there was a funny feeling in her heart; she was happy.

Ridiculously happy.

"That's nice…I like being able to go anywhere."

"It's even better coz it means that you can go anywhere with _me_."

"Yes…I guess it does…" She took a quick look at the other side once more, "_anywhere_ sounds incredible…anywhere with you, _however_, will be quite the adventure. Do you think we'll be able to do it without attempting to kill each other five minutes into it?"

"Don't bet on it baby doll."

With that something else happened; somewhere in Raven's subconscious Affection was laughing _maniacally_. It wasn't every day that she won out with someone like Raven.

Victory was sweet.

**_The End_**

* * *

**A/N: OH MY GOD! I actually finished it! Yes, me, MonkeeNoodles, finito-ed a ficcie!**

**I'm so proud of myself!**

**Wowzers...its been amazing writing this ficcie and the feed back has been double the amazing...I seriously can't have written this ficcie without the beautiful comments that you guys give me.**

**No, seriously, if it weren't for your reviews I would've probably stopped writing in the middle of the story and that would've majorly sucked...no?**

**Ah...still a bit surreal...all the blood, sweat, tears and alack of sleep have finally paid off!**

**It is DONE!**

**:maniacal laughter:**

**So, once again my readers, I give many many MANY thanks to you all because without you this would've totally flopped.**

**:hugs and kisses:**

**BTW I've put a summary of the sequeal on my profile page so if anyone wants to know about it, it's on there, capiche?**

**Capiche.**

**I also have some a BBRae fanart up that KINDA goes with this ficcie (OK, that's a lie...but it's still a BBRae one...) and you can see it on my account at monkeenoodlesdotdeviantartdotcom.**

**Good lord I've got butterflies in my stomach now from all the euphoria.**

**It's a little sad...this ficcie was my baby.**

**Anyways, you know the drill, giv me muchos reviews so that I love you even more?**

**Not that I don't love you.**

**No, really.**

**-MonkeeNoodles**


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